Hysteria
by X-Sparker
Summary: The world seems to have gone wrong. SoraRiku, AkuRoku, Zemyx, CloudLeon, XemSai pairings Dark, angst. Possibly tragedy. Rated M for disturbing contents.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER**

I do NOT own any of the Kingdom Hearts I & II rights.

Warning: Yaoi, SoraRiku, AkuRoku, Zemyx, CloudLeon, XemSai, language, dark, angst below.

Warning: CONTAINS 18+ MATURE CONTENT!! STOP HERE AND TURN AROUND, OR FOREVER HOLD YOUR PEACE!!

(A/N) Inspired by xXxchiixXx's Drugs. I wrote this a while ago... I just didn't upload it... Now I did.  
Read the first two chapters and you'll realize the POV I use. 'K, what else?? Not really much to say, but reviews are luffed!!  
I'll only upload two chaps for now, if you like it, tell me!! Then maybe I'll keep on updating!

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Where should I begin the story?

Ah… Let's start with where everything goes wrong. How sad it is to start a story in such depressing manner. But if things hadn't gone wrong, we wouldn't have a story to tell; but they did, and we do, and now's the time to tell it.

So like I said, things between me and Riku had gone terribly wrong. I remember a time when we were close and happy. I would go over to his house almost everyday and sleep over during weekends. Later I even moved into his house and lived with him; and eventually we got engaged and married. Oh yes…those days were wonderful…_back then._ Then there was one day, Riku said his old friends came back to visit him and he'd stay out a little later than usual. I, of course, had no objection to that. When he came home, he was staggering around. I naturally thought that it was the alcohol; y'know, chatting with old friends about the past and good old times, drank a few drinks and got carried away, had a wild night, no big deal…… But apparently it was a big deal. Things seemed weird after that night. Riku started staying out really late; he gets angry at little things a lot easier and fiercer. I thought he was having a bad time and discarded the attempt to care more. I made the wrong choice. One day I tried to turn on the stove like I did everyday to cook, but nothing happened. I called and checked, only to find out that Riku didn't pay the gas bills for a few months; they'd cut off our gas! I went to check his bank accounts and bills; he was practically BANKRUPT! Most of his credit cards were dead; I even found letters from the bank informing that he's under LOADS of debts. I had to pay the bills myself; I only have little savings, ya'know? Because I stopped working after a while since we got married; he asked me to stop working!  
I immediately saw the need to talk to him, but he only yelled back at me. That's when the arguments kick in. We argued more and more, so much to the point that if it weren't for the fact that he stays out SO late at night and doesn't come home until I've fallen asleep, I think arguments would've become one of my daily routines. Speaking of sleep, I haven't had much for a good while now. And even when I actually _do_ get some sleep, it's accompanied with tons of crying. Yes, I cry myself to sleep. Enough of that off-topic bragging, so I had to find out what's wrong with my husband. I traced his bank account and discovered that he's been transferring a lotta money to a certain person. I researched, turns out that man was a drug dealer.

Riku has been doing drugs.

I tried to talk to him, tried to open him up and persuade him, ask him to go get medical help. Of course, he yelled back at me and…well…hit me. All I got from him was he didn't know how the drug got into his system; it's just from that night he felt drowsy and "high". After that, my twin brother Roxas and older brother Cloud both told me to leave him; but I can't!! It wasn't Riku's fault that he turned into this! It must've been his old friends – no, not friends – those evil people gave him the drug, puttin' it into his food or somethin'! I can't just leave him like that in the darkness! I love him! And I want to help him, more than anything! But so far, all I could do is to sit on the couch, sighing and thinking to myself how the hell did I let this happen. I'm so tired. I yawned, then I heard the door crack open. From the shuffling of the footsteps I could tell it was Riku.

"Sora…" He purred, trying desperately to sound seductive, which only worked on his voice since his face was thinned down to its bone, big dark bags under his eyes; and his eyes…his eyes. The aquamarine orbs that I used to fall in love with, that I used to get lost into; that used to shine with hope and love and something wonderful, you name it… _used to._ Now they are just dull and dead and, saddest of all, empty. I froze in my position on the sofa; I could tell Riku was approaching closer and closer from the corner of my eye. I managed to quietly whisper a "What is it". He sat next to me and pulled me onto his lap. I didn't dare to resist; it doesn't feel good when he beats me up. I stared at the dreadfully dry eyes before realizing a smear of cocaine at the entrance of his nostrils.

"What?" I asked again. He only smirked and moved a hand down to his own 'private place' and cupped it. My gaze followed the hand's trail and found him shaking his own bulge. I shook my head; I don't want it, not now.  
But my protest only triggered one of his temper outbreaks; he smacked me real hard on the face. Tears automatically flowed from my eyes as I cupped the injured cheek.

"What the fuck are you cryin' for, bitch?!!" He roared and grabbed my wrists, yanking them down and dug his nails onto them, leaving awful crescent marks. I tried to fight for my freedom; but he was strong, he always is, he just didn't use it that way before. Soon he had my pants tugged away and readied himself to thrust into me. I wasn't ready, but he did anyways. Searing pain forced its way inside me; I screamed. It hurts. Tears welled up again; I raised my arms to wipe them, as I did so I felt those eyes glaring at me again. I stared back at them; then it hit me.

_Riku wasn't there._

_The Riku that I loved was __**long**__ gone._

My body fell limp and my vision blurred again; but I didn't bother. Riku was gone; it's a whole new stranger that's fucking me and raping me, forcing blood out of my asshole. Somehow my mind decided that it'd be easier if my brain shut down.

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(A/N afternote): Don't take drugs, kids; it's bad for you.


	2. Chapter 2

I woke up to the usual ceiling that I always woke up to. My head hurt, like always. With one hand massaging my temple, my other arm supported me as I left the bed. Yesterday night… I was at the bar with those people, then I had enough and went home… Then what happened? How did I get home? Hm……. No matter how I tried I couldn't seem to remember, the next thing I knew I was waking up in my bed. Oh well.  
I could almost smell my own sweat, ew. I went to take a bath, but on the way I felt something disgustingly squishy down there between my legs. I wiped a little bit of whatever it was so I could see it, to my surprise, it was a pinkish mixture of white and red sticky liquid. Yes, white and red; cum and blood. But the blood wasn't mine; I looked around, Sora wasn't there. I decided to take the shower first.  
After that I left the room and went downstairs to the kitchen, but I found Sora sitting unusually calm at the dining table. A-And there was something weird…there was a sickening odor around the place. My gaze returned back on Sora, it was then that I realized there was a luggage next to him.

"Sora? What's with the luggage?" I asked; he sighed.

"I'm moving back to live with Roxas for a while. I've cleaned up the mess on the couch yesterday. I…I can't take it anymore. I want to help you, to get through this together, _so badly._ But how am I supposed to do that if you won't open up?" He asked, gazing at me with wet eyes, they were swollen; he must've cried again.

"Sora-I…I…"

He shook his head, standing up and grabbing the luggage with him as he headed towards the front door. Whoa! He's serious! I quickly grabbed his arm, "Wait! Sora, I love you." I couldn't believe he swung his arm away.

"Stop saying things that you don't mean!" He started sobbing, "I can't do this anymore! I don't know when I can trust you! I don't know which part of your words I should believe in! This moment you'd tell me that you love me, then the next second you'd turn your back on me and hurt me! What am I supposed to do?!"

"Hurt you…?" I echoed. The foul smell in the room reminded me of the blood I had found earlier; and did he mention about a mess on the couch? A mess, pungent stink, blood with cum, hurting him… God what've I done?!

"Sora I'm sorry…" Even I knew that an apology wouldn't do anything to the problem. Once again he shook his head in dismay, taking his gears and strolled out, right then and there. I could do absolutely nothing but watch him as he left.

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"HE WHAT?!" Huge azure orbs stared at me with bewilderment; Roxas can get dramatic sometimes…well but not really this time, since everyone else in the room was having the equally shocked face on them.

"He. Is. So. Dead." Cloud threatened with his frighteningly low deep voice. He rose from Leon's embrace and stormed towards the door; luckily I caught his arm before he burst open the fragile wood, "No-! Cloud… Please, don't."

"But if you don't do something about it, the same thing will happen again." Axel noted calmly in the sofa. But I knew that, I'm probably the one who knew it better than anyone else.

"Can I have my hand back?" Cloud asked. From his expression I knew he'd rip open the door if I let him go, so I shook my head.

"No, not until you promise me you won't hurt Riku."

"But why?" Cloud almost whined.

"Because it's not his fault that he'd become like this! He didn't want it to turn out like this either! It was those people that night that slipped the drug into his food! He doesn't deserve to be punished!"

"And you do?" Cloud fired back, staring sternly at me. That caught me off guard; I didn't think about that. I released his hand.

"So what are you gonna do?" Leon asked, crossing his arms. Good question; I'm not exactly sure about the answer either. "I don't know…maybe I'll go look for a psychologist or something…"

"But how's that going to help if he won't even see them?" Roxas asked; they certainly do enjoy cracking my plans don't they?

"Speaking of that," Axel suddenly remarked, "I have the perfect person for the job." _Thank God._ "A close friend of mine is a psychologist, name's Demyx. He talked about launching a rehabilitation program designed for addicts who won't seek help on their own." Okay, I don't know who that Demyx guy is, but I already want to glomp on him! I can finally see the light after a long period of darkness. "How can I contact him?"


	3. Chapter 3

The place was quiet and calming in one way or another. A nurse was sitting behind the reception desk, handling incoming phone calls. A few people sat on some available seats, seemingly waiting for a doctor. I approached the reception desk; the chocolate-haired nurse looked up to me, "Can I help you sir?"

"Uh…yes, I'm looking for Demyx; I'm sent from Axel." I said nervously.

"Did you make an appointment?" The usual question. "No." The usual answer.

"Did you just mention Axel?" A voice inquired unexpectedly; I turned to the source of the voice and saw a blond mohawk-haired man. "Yes…and you are?"

"I'm Demyx." He noted, "How's Axel? Is he still with that blond kid…what's his name…?"

"Are you talking about Roxas?"

"Yes! Wait- you know him too?"

"He's my twin brother."

"Ah I see…" Demyx nodded, "Well may I have your name?"

"I'm Sora." Demyx held out his hand for a shake and I did so. Then he led me into what appeared to be his office. I sat down at the proper chair and he sat across the table.

"So what brought you here?"

"I heard from Axel that you are going to run a rehabilitation program."

"Yes…are you participating?" He asked rather uncomfortably.

"No… But I was wondering if it could help my uh…partner."

"Why don't you tell me about your partner's condition?"

This is going to be a long story… I took a deep breath before starting, "Well at first we met and we got married after a while and everything was okay. Until one night he said his 'old friends' were coming back to visit him, so he would stay out later than usual… I didn't think it was anything special back then so I just kind of shrugged. When he came back…he wasn't very much balanced on his feet. And I thought that it was just a few drinks he had. But things started going wrong afterwards. Later our gas supply got cut off and I had to check what happened, it was then that I realized he hadn't pay our bills and stuff. I asked him what was going on but every time he just yelled back at me and we started arguing a lot. So I checked his bank account and I found out that he has been transferring money to a drug dealer. I tried to persuade him to get medical help but it was no use…"

"So you decided to come here." Demyx finished for me; I nodded. "Alright that's fine. Do you know what kind of drug he's taking?"

"Cocaine; and I know it's very expensive."

"Yes it is indeed. And what is your partner's name?"

"His name is Riku. So how does your rehabilitation program works?"

"Well you see, by the legal definition, a drug abuser is unable to give consent. So if an addict refuses to participate in rehabilitation program, much like Riku himself; the direct family has the right to decide for him." He pulled out a booklet and a piece of paper that appears to be a form of some sort, "In other words, once you've filled out the required fields about him on this form and signed in this box," He pointed at a signature box at the bottom of the form, "Riku is officially attending this program. He will be sent to our rehabilitation camp, which is located here in Pride Lands." He pointed at a map on the booklet, "This program lasts for three years. Its major perspectives are, of course, to help addicts quit their addiction, and also to rebuild their self-confidence so they could re-enter the society and restore to their normal lives. During the first year, the participants will be arranged to get to know each other, their backgrounds and histories, then we would start with activities to build trust between them. Of course we would also start chemical treatments right away. During the second year, we would focus on the physical health and training, more education on the benefits and losses of quitting an addiction. Yes, both benefits and losses; we can't hide the truth away from them. We should tell them everything they need to let them make a choice; we'd discuss about the philosophy of worthiness, like 'Is it worthy to give up a family over drugs and temporary feelings of high?' During the last year, we would prepare them for the restoration of their lives; tell them what there is out there waiting for them, and discussion activities to let them tell us about how they feel after joining this curriculum and whether it had helped them or not."

That seemed to be a fantastic plan; at least to me. I stayed silent for a while, deep in thoughts. What if Riku refuses to even get on the car? What if he runs away? What if he won't change even after the program? What if I'm just thinking too much?

"Do you want some time to consider this idea?" Demyx asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"No, I'll sign it." I said with determination, "I'll force him onto the car even if I have to." This caused Demyx to chuckle, "Chill out, I'm sure there's a part of him that wants a change too."

Oh yeah. Why haven't I thought of that earlier? After all, he was _not_ the one taking the drug voluntarily in the first place. He even said he was sorry after that incident; yes, some part of Riku was still there, hidden and asleep under that thick coat of cocaine… I nodded and smiled, then began to fill out the form in hopes of a change for something better.

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A/N: I have NO IDEA what rehab programs are like; this is just a fusion of some research and my imagination, so I'm sorry if it's really straying from the reality... XD


	4. Chapter 4

Days without Sora are shit. All I eat everyday was cup noodles. Why don't I go ask him to come back, you ask? Well 'cause if I do I'll certainly get the crap beaten out of me by Cloud, who probably knows everything that happened between us by now. Well, what can I ask more for other than to know that Sora's okay? After what I've done to him… I don't deserve him, why he'd stayed with me for so long I don't know. But now it's all over… Well, all I can do is to resort to more cocaine…… It's become a haven for me now, to get away from the horrible reality, from the loneliness, from myself. Oh I feel dizzy again… I drooped an arm over my eyes and drifted into another prolonged night of sleep.

Ruffling noises around the house and room woke me. I flickered open my eyes, but everything was just a blur, so I groaned back to sleep. Wait- NOISES IN THE HOUSE!? Someone's in my house!? What the hell!? Before I could figure anything out, I felt strong hands grabbing all four of my limbs and transporting me from the bed to downstairs; I tried to fight back, but the aftereffect from the drug stole all my energy. When I kind of made out from the blur images that I was at the front doorway, I saw a fuzzy brunette head. The image magnified as the head moved close, then I felt a vaguely familiar warm breath trickling my ear.

"I'll wait for you, and when you come back, everything will be okay."

The head minified again; then I saw a tiny movement rolling down what I would call cheek. That movement eventually reached the edge of the 'cheek' and then I felt something warm and wet darted on my face. The hands that were grabbing me continued to move me out of the house and placed me into what seemed like a van. Damn my eyes! They just refuse to focus! I felt the vehicle vibrate as I heard an engine roar. Grrreat… I'm being kidnapped by strangers… were they?

The next thing I knew I was in the middle of nowhere. The land was parched and deserted. My eyes finally managed to focus; it was then that I realized there were other people in the van too. Some looked horribly thin; some had their skin starting to grow yellow. The person next to me had a strong smell of marijuana on him; an addict… The car stopped and the violet-haired driver left the vehicle with the blond front passenger, then both of them slid open the doors and let us out. Some of the passengers exited the car voluntarily as if they knew what they were doing; I just followed what they did. Then the driver and front passenger grouped us into a few lines.

"Welcome to the Addiction-Free Program!" The blond Mohawk greeted. Addiction-Free…? Is this a rehab?! Since when did I apply for a rehab?

"I'm Demyx." The blonde continued to say, "And this is my partner Zexion." He gestured to his blue-haired partner. "Your luggage will be arriving soon; now we'll bring you to your dorm and assign your rooms."

Okay… If this is a joke, it's going out of the line; I really have to get something clear. "Excuse me, but why am I here?" I asked. Eyes turned to me and Demyx eyed me with some confusion, then proceeded to inquire my name. "My name's Riku."

"Ah… So you're Riku…" The blond nodded as if he had heard of me for a long time, "You're the only one here that isn't voluntary; your family signed you up for this."

My family…? My only family left is…Sora. So is this what it was all about? Is this what he wanted all along? He could've just told me! Wait…did he?

"But how…" It still doesn't make any sense.

"Because you're an abuser and your words can't be taken legally, that's why." Zexion interrupted impatiently, "Seriously, I can tell why your family had to sign up for you."

"Zexy…" Demyx pouted almost flirtingly, his hands adhered at the corner of the sleeve of Zexion's shirt. I guess they have something going on between them since Zexion gave in and sighed. Soon we were led to a plain building that seemed apparently to be a dormitory and the luggage was already there. I was assigned to share the room with the marijuana addict; he is a tall tanned guy with long smooth silver hair, his eyes were amber colored. I was settling my belongings when I saw him looking at a picture and sighing.

"What are you on, kid?" His low deep voice inquired; he knew I was looking at him without directly looking back at me.

"Uh… you mean the drug?" He nodded. "Um… Cocaine. You're on marijuana, right?" He nodded again, "You can tell from the smell, huh?"

"Yeah…why'd you do it?" I sat beside him on the edge of his bed; I have the upper one while he's under, te-hee.

"Stress-" He started, "would be a lame excuse; I did it under peer pressure. They used my stubbornness about my goddamn pride. I'm the kind of person that gets irritated if somebody disrespect or undervalue me. So they asked me, 'Hey wanna try some?' And I said 'no'. Then they took away half the dose, and asked 'Just have half?' I refused again, and they divided the dose smaller and smaller until they finally said, 'C'mon! This is like for babies' level! Don't tell me you can't even handle this!' That one sentence ticked me on and I was like, 'What do you mean by that?! Of course I can! Don't underestimate me!' Then it got me. A good well life gone for some fuckin' arrogance; so much for my 'pride'."

"Oh… So why'd you join this rehab?" Yeah I know that's kind of a stupid question but…just curious.

"For him." He passed me the picture on his hand; it showed a handsome young man with blue hair equally long to his and scars marking an 'X' on the forehead. He was smiling calmly. "Beautiful, ain't he? That's my partner, Saïx. Oh by the way I'm Xemnas." He held out a hand which I gladly shook.

"What about you? Demyx just said your family signed you up. You've got someone important in your heart too?" I nodded and dug around my pant pockets, luckily my wallet was there; I flipped it open and Sora's picture was the first thing in sight…well since it was also the only thing in there…any cash or credit cards were all gone.

"He's Sora." I introduced as I showed Xemnas Sora's trademark happy grin.

"He's cute." Xemnas complimented politely; I nodded, "He sure is…I really feel like shit. I don't deserve him at all… Not after what I've done to him…"

"Well I don't know what you did nor do I want to know, but…" He rose from the bed after putting Saïx's picture into a picture frame carefully and placed it on the dress cupboard, "If you really love him, then you shouldn't disappoint him. He had already helped you on your first step by signing you up; now the rest is up to you." With that, he opened the door and left with a 'I'm going to the showers, see ya tomorrow'.

Yes, I really do love Sora. I won't disappoint him; he stayed with me so long and helped me get through so many things, now I'm gonna take it from here, because I love him, more than anything.

More than the drugs.

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**A/N: okay, I have to admit that the last sentence was kind of copied from xXxchiixXx's Drugs. But it was soo awesome!! And the part where Riku gets transported from his house to the van is actually based on a real story. This kid at our school (I don't know him, his story was posted on the school newsletter) was addicted to some drugs and one day he woke up feeling people moving him to a car. And then the next thing he knew he was in the middle of Utah. I thought it was wicked cool so I based it off. As for Xemnas' peer pressure experience, that was inspired by my dad's lecture. It wasn't like he was scolding me or anything, but after I asked him some questions about cocaine when writing this fanfic, we somehow got into this lecture/educational discussion thing and he showed this as an example to entice ME to drugs based on my personality. It was creepy how accurate my dad was so I had to put that in XD (but for the record, I'm not doing drugs)  
**


	5. Chapter 5

Man, things haven't been going right for days! First Sora came to our house telling me that he's been raped by Riku, his husband! Then he helped him sign up for a rehab and Axel had to go 'persuade' him onto the van. And I'm getting real damn horny since Axel hasn't made love with me for like… weeks! Every time I asked him he's either too tired, or still have something to do; then by the time he's done I'm already asleep; and he woke up before I do everyday. 'Knock!' 'Knock!' on the door pulled me away from thoughts.

"Come in!" I yelled from the bed, leisurely lying on the soft quilts. Sora walked in; he's sharing my bed for now. His hair seemed ruffled and damp; his eye lids struggling to keep opened. He threw himself onto the bed, yawning loudly.

"Tired?" I asked; well duh. He nodded, "A long day of work." Work?! He's going back to work?! Why didn't he tell me?! "You're going back to work?"

He eyed me as if I was supposed to know, "Cocaine isn't exactly cheap, you know."

"Huh? I don't get it."

"Riku's got debts after that long addiction to that overly expensive drug, yeah?" He groaned, "Can I sleep now?"

"Wait… So you're paying his debts for him?"

"Duh! Or who else's gonna pay?" He gave me a threatening death glare that didn't really work well since he's struggling to stay awake, "And don't you dare to tell him about this!"

"What if I tell Cloud?" I joked; this time he gave me the real glare. "Just kidding." He nodded approvingly before burying his face into the pillow, slowly starting to snore.

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Hm… The vanilla scent of Sora's shampoo resting along his chestnut spikes; those little fingers that I love oh-so much twining into my silver locks when I nibbled down his happy trail… The little pinch of cocaine left at my nostrils only stimulate my senses more-

"Wake up, sleepy pig!"

"HUH?? WHAT?" I jumped up from the bed to the loud voice; though my eyes were practically still shut. I took time to focus and found Demyx grinning at me. Xemnas wasn't in the room; Zexion was leaning against the doorframe impatiently like always, arms crossed.

"You've got to get used to this; we're setting wake-up hours!" Demyx was still grinning all the while, "So now it's time to wake up!!"

Is he serious? …Man I'm gonna hate this, and it's only the first day! I groaned and crawled out of bed, shoving Demyx aside on the way. Then I locked myself in the bathroom.

"Don't take too long, Riku! Everybody's waiting for you!" Demyx continued to needle me with his voice behind the door; then I heard scuffling footsteps and the room was silent again… I looked at myself on the mirror. Disgusting monster, the other me. The overwhelming menace that makes me hurt the ones I love. I know I've got no excuse, because that other me is still me. But what can I do? I was scared and I didn't know what waits ahead of me… I was afraid that I would get lost, so I let that other side of me take over… Maybe I'm just running away after all; maybe I'm still running away right now. I sighed and began to change.

Fresh air welcomed me once I stepped outside. Not far away I could see a group of people sitting in circle with Demyx telling the group about something excitedly. I strolled over and joined them, sitting next to Xemnas. He was the only who made me feel more comfortable. Some of the people were looked intimidating, their expressions on the face looked as if they would kill you if you stare for one more second; some others looked utterly sick, their faces are thin and desiccated, much like my own; some others are like Xemnas, their eyes filled with hope before the rehab had even started yet; one particular long-haired guy wore long sleeves to hide his injection marks.

"Okay, so everybody's here! Great!" Demyx exclaimed annoyingly animatedly, "We'll start with basic introduction! Now…who wants to tell us about them first?" A lady raised her hand timidly, starting to speak, "My name is…

…So I've decided to quit, and now I'm here." Xemnas finished. The next one will be me. Crap. Oh well, I suppose this has to be done, so I started, "My name is Riku. I am addicted to cocaine. I'm here…well because my partner signed me up. His name is Sora, and he's…" I blushed, "an angel to me. I don't know how I got caught up with the addiction but…he always stayed with me. He was the only one who tried his best to help me…not that I listened, of course. I guess I'll never know why he helped me so much, but I don't want to disappoint him. I know he wants the best for me, so I'll try my best." The group nodded with me; they don't seem so bad after all. After a few people was that long-haired guy.

"My name is Marluxia. I'm a heroin addict." Heroin, no wonder he had to hide those marks; he seemed like the kind of guy who cares a lot about his appearance. "I don't have much to say about myself. But I don't like those pops on my skin, so I wanted to quit." That was a short introduction of himself…he skipped almost everything. When we all finished knowing each other, Demyx handed each of us a piece of paper. On it was a schedule.

"This is your personal schedules; I've designed them for you after reading all your profiles." I looked at mine; two days of reporting to the doctor, on Tuesday and Saturday; three days of activities with the group, on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday; I spend Friday in the gym and Sunday is my free day.

"On your doctor reports days," Zexion started to explain, "You will go see our pharmacologists and receive medical treatments. Their info is already located there in your schedule. You each have one pharmacologist to follow your case. Then you have the gym day, where you will go to the gym and train your physical body; we have a coach to assign you routines and you will do as he says. And there are a few days of activities with the group; now not everyone's schedule is the same, so some people might have to report to the doctors while others are on the activities, this is okay. Now the only day left is your rest day, this day you can stay in your room, or just hand around here; your choice. This is also the day you can go to the communication booth and call your family or send your letters to them. Are we clear?" The group nodded. Today is Sunday, so I've got free time. I compared my schedule to Xemnas'; we have Monday, Thursday and Friday together.

Hm…so what should I do with my free time?

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**Reviews are sweet.**


	6. Chapter 6

I entered the locker room quite tiredly. Another day of work… I wonder how long I have to work before completely clearing out all of Riku's debt. Sighing, I opened my locker and changed myself into the waiter outfit. It was still just the morning, so there weren't a lot of customers; only a few of those early-risers here to grab some breakfast after the morning jog. As I left the locker room I saw a customer holding up his hand, waiting for someone to serve him; I strolled over and took the orders. When I turned around I found my colleague Kairi struggling with a huge tray of dishes, I hurried to her and offered help; but she snorted.

"Go away! Don't you dare to think you can take over the best employee's place here just because you're cute!"

I stammered in shock but she 'hmph'-ed and headed away. I guess she held her head up too high that she didn't see the leg of a chair in her way. She tripped and fell, the tray dropping on the ground and the dishes on it flying everywhere, smashing on the tiles. All the employees quickly gathered to her and helped her out; the manager rushed out from the kitchen.

"What the heck is going on?!" He bellowed. For a while Kairi couldn't come up with anything; then she quickly glanced at the squatting me and pointed at me accusingly.

"It's him!! He bumped into me!" WHAT?! How could she-! What the?!

"No! I-I…" I stammered; damn you Sora!! Why do you stammer at the most important moments?!!

"It wasn't him." A deep voice defended. Gratefully I looked up and found the customer just now standing sternly aside from the crowd; he walked over and helped me up. "I saw it, she tripped herself." Kairi hanged her head low in embarrassment while the manager glared at her.

"Are you okay?" The customer asked me; he is a tall strong man with long silver hair down to his waist and emerald eyes, he reminded me of Riku. I grinned at the nice man, "I'm fine, sir."

"Call me Sephiroth." He winked at me before returning to his seat. What a nice guy… I snapped out of thoughts when I heard the jingling sound of shattered glass. I returned my gaze on the broken dishes; Kairi was picking up the crashed plates. I quickly squatted again to help her.

"Don't help her." The manager growled at me. I looked up, "But sir, she might get hurt."

"So? She lied right in front of me."

"Sir, I'm _paid_ to do this." I argued; that threw him back. He sighed and returned to the kitchen; I continued to help Kairi.

"You didn't have to do that." She said, somewhat gratefully I guess. I smiled, "It's okay, I want to help."

"But I didn't ask for your help." She hissed and picked up the last piece; then stood with the tray and headed to the back alley. Gee, what is her problem…? My cell phone rang to pull me out of my thoughts.

----

I strolled around the building; the day was quiet and little activity was going on. From afar I could see people in the gym. Poor guys, it's just the first day and they're already starting the gym section. A person approached ahead of me; it was Marluxia… So he has got rest day on Sunday too… I continued to walk around until I reached the cafeteria; some people were buying food. I decided to have an early lunch, so I flipped open my wallet. Then I saw it.

Sora's picture.

Suddenly I miss him a lot. Then I remembered that I didn't have any money. Stupid me…why did I go to the cafeteria if I don't have any money to buy food? Turning away from the canteen, I headed in search of a phone. What did Demyx say about phones? He said we have to go to some sort of booth…… I pulled out my schedule and read the keys; oh yeah, the communication booth. I located it on the map and walked towards it.

"Whatja want?" The old man with gross rotten teeth asked.

"Um…I want to make a call." I replied nervously. The old man grumbled and pulled out a landline telephone. I dialed Sora's cell.

'Ring! Ring!' Please pick up please pickup pleasepickup…

"Hello?" Oh that voice! That cute voice I've always loved! How I missed it oh-so much!

"Hey, Sora." I greeted, trying to sound the best I could.

A dead silence followed. I fidgeted uneasily. Before I said anything to ensure he's still alive on the phone, the other side hung up. 'Doo! Doo! Doo!' The hang-up buzz repeated irritatingly. He hung up. Sora hung up. He hung up on me! Why? Why, Sora? Don't you want to talk to me? Does my voice scare you away? Do you hate me now? He must…what am I after all? A sucker, loser, addict that had hurt everyone around myself… I pushed away everyone that tried to help me… I'm a jerk…The world would be a better place if I'm not here; if I don't exist…I should just die. But I want to live, I'm a coward…Give me strength… Somebody help! I ran back to my room and cuddled to a corner; somebody…give me strength…give me cocaine…more…more……

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A/N: So that was kind of a demonstration of what it's like to be addicted to drugs... It's the mental power that drives it going... Anyhoo! Please review and tell me what you think! 


	7. Chapter 7

Phew! So the rehabilitation program finally started! There goes the first day! I'm kinda nervous, since this is really the first time I'm _running_ the program myself. I'm so glad that Zexion's my partner, or I really wouldn't know what to do, and what would become of me. Yeah…Zexion always helped me. Sitting at the edge of my bed, I smiled at the thought, nuzzling my face into the soft Mickey cushion I was hugging. The door creaked open and the familiar violet-head entered the room. He walked over to the table to arrange some files. We stayed silent like that for a while; then I lied back onto the bed, making a soft sigh and trying to fall asleep. But soon I felt a weight at the side of my bed when Zexion sat on it.

"Tired?" He asked; rubbing circles on my wrist bone for some reason.

"Yeah…and it's only the start of the rehab…" I mumbled; probably too quietly for him to hear it, for he showed me a questioning gaze while leaning closer.

"I said 'yeah, and it's only the start of the rehab'…" I tried again; I was pretty sure he could hear it, but he still had those questioning eyes. Then he leaned his head right next to mine; his lukewarm breath prickling my ear and one arm over my stomach.

"What did you say…?" I could feel his lips brushing my ear's helix. I blushed profusely, although he couldn't see it. I turned to the wall, tugging the Mickey cushion along and hid my flushed cheeks. He chuckled and I felt his weight leaving the bed.

"I'm gonna go take a shower," His voice at the doorframe of the bathroom, "Wanna come?" I could just tell that he was smirking without even looking at him. I shook my head, "No thanks," trying to hide the sorrow in my voice. Yes, this has been what it was like between me and Zexion for the past year. We're more than just friends, but we're not close to lovers yet; and he had teased me in everyway he could. No matter how much I actually wanted to join him in that shower, I restrained myself from doing so. I couldn't do that not knowing how he feels about me. If he was just some hot guy I met somewhere that I wanted to have one night stand with, then maybe I will let him fuck me. But it has gone way past that; my feelings for Zexion had grown uncontrollably to the point where I am friggin' crying right now just 'cause I don't like how he teases me knowing that I love him!!!!!! Godddd!! My hands fisted at the sheets and Mickey's poor nose.

"Demyx, why're you crying?" Zexion's voice startled me. I looked over my shoulder at his concerned face; his hair was wet and dripping, he was shirtless and had nothing on except a towel over his waist. He gently placed a thumb over my cheek, tracing and wiping the tear trails. I tugged his hand away and whispered, "Don't do this to me… You're torturing me… Don't get too close when you don't love me…"

"Who said I don't love you?"

Huh? What did he just say? What did I just hear? HUH? WHAT?! "Z-Zexion…" I was silenced with his pair of lips. What is happening to me? My stomach feels like it's turning inside out. He pulled away, gazing into my eyes, "I've always loved you, Demyx." I turned my cheek away; I could almost feel the heat on my face. Then my idea light bulb 'ding'-ed. This is MY time to payback!!! MWUHAHAHA!!!

"Prove it." I smirked at Zexion and stood from the bed, heading for the door. But when my hand was half an inch away from the knob I was yanked around by strong arms; Zexion advanced to pin my arms above my head to the door. He leaned close again. "Oh you have no idea what I can do to prove." I felt warm wet flesh licking the shell of my ear, which oh-my-god……I can't think anymore…

My usual alarm clock woke me up on time. I groaned and half-opened my eye lids. My arm bumping here and there clumsily while trying to reach for the noisy timepiece. I tried to sit up to get a better view but an arm was over my chest. I looked over my shoulder and found Zexion snuggling up against my pillow, murmuring in his dreams. Aww…he looks so damn cute! I kissed his bare arm lightly and put it aside softly, afraid of waking him; then I stood from the bed. Damn! The room's cold if you don't have any clothes on!! I quickly tiptoed over to the bathroom and started the day with a nice warm shower.

----

Struggling, I crawled out of bed. I looked at the clock; a white clear 'TUE' marked on the little black flip next to the time. Tuesday… oh yeah, yesterday I did some stupid activity with Xemnas and the group… I don't get what's the point of it. Whatever. Today is… I focused on my schedule…doctor day, great. If I see the doctor I'll have him give me some sort of depressant 'cause right now my mood's down to the butt of a fucking abyss. I never knew Sora can have such a strong effect on my emotions; that hung up call is still tearing up my heart goddammit.

"Hello there, uh…" The ice blond haired doctor glanced at what seems to be my file, "Riku."

"Hi…" I responded like a dead cat and slumped into the single sofa across from his desk.

"I'm your doctor Vexen." He held up a hand politely, "How are you feeling?"

I lazily took his hand and shook it formally, "I feel like sh-I feel bad." I guess I need to be cautious about my diction in front of a doctor.

"So you are on cocaine…" He spoke to the paper, "I can see why you feel bad."

"Really? Why?" I asked idly, pretending to be interested.

"You see, cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant." Yeah, like I'm gonna understand that. "When a normal person is happy, your brain will release a certain type of neurotransmitter; that's why you feel happy and your heart pumps faster when you're excited. But when you take cocaine, you're feeding yourself with the excessive amount of these neurotransmitters' chemical; so your body tells your brain to stop making these natural neurotransmitters and rely on the chemicals in cocaine. And when you stopped taking cocaine, your body practically lacks that chemical because you're not taking it and your brain isn't making it. That's why after you finished taking cocaine, you feel depressed and sad." He looked at my completely lost face, "In other words, it's like the reason why the zoo doesn't let people feed the birds. After a while, the birds remembered that they don't have to search for food but they can still get it from the visitors; so they don't go seek food anymore. Then what happens if one day all the visitors are gone? What if the zoo closes down and the birds have to live on their own now? They won't go search for food, because they thought that somebody will bring it to them. So they die of hunger. But of course, a human is smarter than a bird so a human would go look for the solution. You took cocaine and felt depressed afterwards, when you feel depressed and know that cocaine can give you euphoria, you go look for more cocaine; that's how you get addicted to it."

I only caught the last sentence. Seriously, this guy is a freak. "So can I have some depressant?" Was all I needed to know.

"Yes, yes, sure, sure." Vexen nodded accustomedly and scribbled something on another piece of paper; then handed it to me, "This is your prescription, hand it to the nurse outside and she'll give you your medicine. There aren't a lot of things a pharmacologist can do for cocaine addicts; most of the treatment depends on yourself and your psychological support. Just one more thing-" He eyed me suspiciously, "Don't try anything stupid with your pills."

I nodded and left the room; then I headed towards the nurse's counter. She took my prescription paper and disappeared back into the shelves, then returned with a small bag, "Here is your medicine. You take this weekly. Just take the pill and accompany it with water; don't drink alcohol or anything other than water with it." Again, I nodded and left; I hope those little pills will help me ease my pain in my heart…


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Wow people have been reviewing and adding alerts lately! Thank you so much! You guys deserve this chapter :)

Disclaimers and warnings are on my profile page, you know the drill.

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I see a bright glow of light in front of me, luminating the darkness lurking around it. My eyes took a little while getting used to the bright gleam, then I saw Riku. The healthy, happy and content Riku that I love. I ran towards him, using all my strength. But after a while I realized I wasn't getting anywhere, I was just running and running at the same spot. Remaining unchanged. The rays emanating from Riku shrunk and the darkness grew stronger. I held out my hand to reach Riku; but he only turned and smiled at me. The darkness gradually engulfed him. 

"Noooooooooooooooooo!!!"

I jumped from the bed, staring at my own legs. It was just a dream…chill. The body next to me wriggled and the weight on the bed shifted. I looked at Roxas; good, I didn't wake him. Heaving a slight sigh, I got off from the bed and walked my way to the kitchen. I picked up a cup to fill it with water, then I instinctively glanced at the calendar. It's been eight months since Riku has gone to the rehab… Time flies. I wonder how he's doing now. He had called me before; but I either just hung up or didn't answer at all. I don't know what to say. He might as well curse on me for forcing him up to a rehab or threaten to kill me when he comes back. I really wouldn't know how to handle that; I don't want a breakdown, so I just decided to not face him at all. Or maybe I don't know how to face him… Anyway, I sat at the kitchen table and casually took a calculator out. I pushed in numbers to compute how much of Riku's debt I've paid back. Only about point eight percent… Maybe even if I work for the rest of my life, I won't be able to clear his debts. Sighing at the thought, I emptied the cup of water in one gulp and returned to sleep.

Roxas patted me awake. I groaned and climbed out of bed. After the shower I went down to have my breakfast; it was then that I realized Axel wasn't in the couch.

"Rox, where's Axel?" He shrugged, "I dunno. He's gone before I was awake."

"Oh…" I responded casually. Axel's been acting like a ghost lately; I told Roxas to keep an eye on him, but he always just waved it away and said he trusts Axel. My little (well not VERY little) brother seems to trust his lover a lot. Oh well… I finished chewing my bread and grabbed my bag.

"I'm off to work!"

----

"Today we will play a game!" Demyx shouted hyperly, "It's a game that requires trust! Now, I want you to form groups of 6!!" We did in accordance. "Five of you form a small close circle, the one person left stands in the middle of the circle. Listen, those five must not be more than one foot away from the person in the center of your circle!!" Marluxia was passively forced to be in the center, me and Xemnas always stood together. "Now the person in the middle, cross your arms to an 'X' and place your hands on your shoulders!" Demyx demonstrated the posture himself, "Then close your eyes! What you will do is you will fall straight in any directions! Don't open your eyes! The people in the circle, your job is to give a slight push to the person in the center when they fall on you to prevent them from really falling flat onto the ground! Now this requires a lot of trust! The person in the middle needs to trust that the others will catch you in order to fall carefree! So, are you ready?" Nobody nodded; but he continues, "Now go!"

Marluxia looked sternly at me, "Are you really gonna catch me?" He whispered. "Of course! Now go!" During these eight months, I've been given a chance to enhance my friendship with Xemnas and I got some chances to talk to Marluxia and know him a bit. Marluxia closed his eyes shut and started falling onto me, my hands quickly reacted and pushed him away; then the person standing across me in the circle pushed him too but to a different direction; so Marluxia was just being pushed around like a tumbler toy, tipped but never really falling. But Marluxia wasn't very trusting; after a while our circle expanded and he started to panic. One time he looked as if he was falling to me; but he held back, so my hands rested by my sides. But I didn't know he was actually gonna fall on me so I didn't catch him in time; we ended up falling onto the ground, I was cushioning him below… Ouch, my back hurts.

"Why didn't you trust me just now?" I asked; we were sitting on Xemnas' bed now after dinner; Xemnas in the shower.

"I…I…" The feminine Marluxia stammered, "Never mind."

"C'mon man! Is it something having to do with your past?" I asked cautiously.

"Just leave me alone." He grunted, cuddling to a corner.

"When I was towed from my bed to the van," I recalled, "I was scared and frightened. But Sora appeared. He told me that he'll be waiting for me, that everything will be okay when I go back after the rehab; and I believed him. Or else I would've run away by now." I chuckled, causing Marluxia to do the same, "I believed his every word, I believe that everything he does for me is for my own good; and I'm glad that I believed in him. Because he's right, now I'm sitting here fine and well. Although I might still be far away from being normal again, but at least I've gotten better. I tried to imagine what it would be like if I didn't trust him; I would still be lurking around in bars, taking more cocaine and waiting to be arrested by the cops, or waiting to overdose and die. Having beliefs is a good thing, it gives you hope to your life. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you should trust everyone you meet. Actually, my life was messed up because I trusted the wrong people. But there are some people that when you look into their eyes, you see more that meets the eye; you just _know_ that you can trust them, like a sixth sense thing." I patted Marluxia's shoulder.

"When I was seven," He suddenly said which startled me, "My mother died. My father forced me into serving for his syndicate. At first I was just supposed to sit around shops and watch; but later I was assigned to be a usurer. I went to various cities to collect the money. I saw friends betraying friends for money; husbands and wives breaking their promises for greed; families disowning their members for pride, all sorts of ugly humanity. Slowly I was taught not to trust anyone. And I grew distant from anyone, even my father. I felt all alone and I ran away from the organization. I wandered around and met some people; they offered to be my 'friends' and introduced me to heroin. I thought I could trust them; I was wrong."

"But you've already started a step to a better life," I smiled; he looked at me confusedly. "By coming here to this rehab. I'm sure some part of you still wanted to trust people, some part of you hasn't lost faith yet, right? Or else why would you have joined this program?" He grinned at me, nodding.


	9. Chapter 9

Breathing in, breathing out. Inhale, exhale. God it's heavy. I grunted and my arm gave in to the overpowering weight from the lat machine. My hands released the grip and I heard a loud thump when the steel weights dropped back onto more steel weights.

"A hundred and sixty-five pounds." Xemnas read from the machine I was sitting on, "That's not bad." It is indeed not bad…considering how I started out with my shrunken arms and thin frame. But recently I've regained some muscles and restoring back to my fit state before getting hooked up to the addiction, plus I've been stuffed with food by Marluxia. Every time I eat (Finally I realized that food here is actually free…haha…), he just gives me some more food when I finished those in front of me. I panted under my sweat, and glanced over at Xemnas' machine. WHAT THE?!

"TWO HUNDRED POUNDS?!" I yelled out loud, "You're not a human, Xemnas." The silver-haired man only laughed at my joke and stopped his training, "It's getting late, c'mon man, let's go." He wiped his sweat with a towel and stood; then whipped it on my lazy leg when I hadn't moved. "Ouch, man why'd you do that?" I stood slowly, catching up from behind him. "Just get your lazy butt in gear." He groaned. As we walked out of the gym a cool refreshing breeze welcomed us; Xemnas' right, it's late and the sky was already a dark shade of navy. We returned to our room.

"I'm going to the shower first." He laughed at my delayed reaction when he hastily occupied the bathroom. Damn… Now I have to dwell in heated sweat until he gets out. Eww… I climbed up the ladder and sat on my bed, then I glanced around aimlessly and spotted the calendar. It's been a year and two months since I was in the rehab…… I wonder what Sora is doing now. Maybe he already found a new hot guy and decided to go with him. Wait…Riku! How could you think that?! Remember, you're trying to quit an addiction that messes with your mind! You need to fight the depression! Okay…tomorrow I'll see the doctor. And Marluxia will be there too! Poor guy, he's got three days to see the doctor 'cause his heroin addiction is pretty bad.

----

"Alright, thanks Dr. Vexen." I waved and left the office, passing by the nurse's counter completely; I didn't have to take depressants for a quite a while. Sora's words that day just kept me going on. Plus, there are people whose life has been worse than mine…

"Marluxia!" I greeted at the feminine guy who was just leaving his doctor's office; it was then that I realized he was wearing a T-shirt, "Hey! Your marks are gone now!"

"Yeah…" He grinned at me as we walked towards the cafeteria. Just as we left the building I spotted Xemnas. Oh yeah, he has got rest day today. He was standing by the communication booth chatting happily to the landline phone. I caught a few words like 'I miss you too honey', 'those guys here are cool' and 'I feel a lot better now'. It must be Saïx he's talking to… For a moment there I got jealous, since Xemnas can talk to his lover so blissfully while I fail to contact Sora so far.

"Riku? Riku??" Marluxia waved his arm in front of me frantically, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Um…I…" He stuttered, "Never mind."

"You sure?" I asked concernedly; he nodded, so I shrugged and turned towards the cafeteria, "Let's grab some lunch."

----

I was writing and arranging the upcoming hiking event of the rehab program when I felt a hand crept up on my chest.

"Zexion!" I patted the naughty hand away. He chuckled and threw himself onto the bed, "Whatcha working so hard for?"

"Honey, there's a hiking activity coming up." I rolled my eyes on him, "There're a lot of things I need to take care of."

"There's also something important here you need to take care of." He pouted; his chin resting on an elbow.

"Yeah? Like what?" I pretended I didn't understand and returned to my writing, only to be interrupted when he grabbed my left wrist and pulled me onto the bed.

"Like making love to me." He smirked and I frowned, "Zexy…" He kissed me to cut me short; and I just had to surrender to the kiss…

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Thanks for the recent alert adds!! Reviews will bring more updates! 


	10. Chapter 10

The day is so booooooooring. My baby-sitter job is only a part-time job, so I'm off when it's still in the middle of the day. Staying at home all day starting at noon isn't something you would want, even though a lot of people wanted a life like me; having only to work for 3 hours on weekdays and a boyfriend to take care of the rest of the financial stuff. Yes, it's a nice life, but it's getting too dull for me. Just as I decided to go stroll in the park, noises of keys rattling came from outside the door and soon it was unlocked. The sight of my red-haired boyfriend emerged.

"Axel!" I exclaimed happily, jumping forward to hug him, "You're home early."

"Hey, babe." He smiled as he set down his suitcase, "I finished work earlier today, so I thought I'd just stop by." Whoa! He scooped me up into his arms. Wait-did he just say _stop by_?

"Stop by?" I asked confusedly, nuzzling into his neck.

"Yeah, I've got a meeting tonight." _Aw come on._ "So I'm not gonna have dinner at home tonight."

"Aww…but Axel…" I resorted to my forever-working pout, "You're always out at work, and you barely come home now… I miss you all the time…"

"We can't have that now can we?" He smirked. It was then that I realized I was placed on the bed with him on top.

"Axel, you are so perv-ahh!" My sentence was interrupted when he ground his hips into mine. Gawd how I missed the action! We haven't done this in a while…And I better stop thinking and enjoy this before he scurries off to work again…

----

I was just setting down a cup of coffee for a customer when a deafening roar echoed around the entire diner.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY BITCH?!!!!"

Instinctively everyone in the café turned to the source of noise. And I found an intimidating muscular man bellowing down at Kairi. He forwarded one step to her, and she strode one step back. As the scene slowly absorbed into my mind and registered, the man held out a hand like he was going to slap her. Out of reflex, I sprinted up towards them and caught his arm. His gaze averted to me and I bravely gave him a threatening glare, "Sir, please don't do this in the public." I warned dryly. For a moment I thought he was going to punch me instead; but he seemed to have composed himself and swung his arm away. I proceeded to stand fully in front of Kairi in a protecting manner and bowed down.

"I apologize for anything that might have offended you." I heard a 'hmph!' and scuffling footsteps as the customer left the shop. I turned to the maroon-haired girl who hanged her head low in shame.

"Now what did you do this time?" I asked, trying my best not to sound irritated.

"W-Well, he ordered a dish and it was late, s-so he asked me to check it…" She replied quietly, "and I said that 'Just wait for a bit longer, it's not like you're gonna die waiting for it'…"

I honestly slapped my forehead at that. "Come on, Kairi. Try to imagine," I drooped an arm over her shoulder as I led her towards the employee's locker room, "If you were out on a date with your boyfriend or just hanging around in a café one day and your order was delayed for say…an hour, how would you feel?"

"I'll feel very annoyed?" She guessed and I nodded, "Of course you will, and what if you ask a waiter to check on it and the reply you got was 'just wait a bit longer, it's not like you're going to die'?"

"Oh…I get it." She sighed. Seriously, she looks and acts so experienced and mature all the time but her mind's so naïve like a little five-year-old! "See, Kairi? Sometimes you have to put yourself into others' shoes and walk around with it before you say or do anything." I grinned and ruffled her hair.

"Stop that!" She laughed, "And just now…thank you." Woaho, when did little Miss Queen learn to say 'Thank you'? "Nah, don't worry about it."

When I got home I thought I heard some weird moaning. What the heck is that awkward sound? I closed the front door quietly and decided to investigate. When I moved into the center of the house I could clearly tell the sound was coming from upstairs, so I went upstairs and – okay… now the moaning sounds like sex…and…IS IT COMING FROM MY ROOM?! My feet were inching towards the door until a loud scream paused me in stun.

"Ohhh! Axel!! Harder!!!"

…

Wasn't expecting that, Roxas. Woooh! Ok, my twin brother and his boyfriend seemed to be in the middle of **something**… So what should I do? Hm… Okay… Let's see… Ah! Let me just go downstairs and grab some coffee before taking a shower! Alright… I'll just use the guest bathroom, that'll save me a lot of embarrassment, yes…

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A/N: so how was that???? leave me a review and tell me, please? 


	11. Chapter 11

Demyx announced that we have a hiking event coming up, and it's something big. Man will we have to get a bunch of stuffs. I was packing a few extra coats when Xemnas came out from the bathroom.

"Packing up already?" He asked. Well duh!!

"Yeah, we're going hiking and camping next week!" I frowned, pushing the sleeve of a puffed-up jacket into the bag, "I've still got a lot of stuff to pack up."

"I didn't even start packing yet." He chuckled and sat down at his bed, rubbing a towel through his wet hair, "You look excited about the camping."

"Oh really?" Do I? "Well, c'mon, I mean, we've been stuck in this area in Pride Land for about a year and a half, isn't it nice to just go somewhere and work all that strength out? Like, we're halfway through the rehab aren't we?"

"Yeah." He nodded and stretched an arm out to take the bag Zexion gave one to each of us, an exact replica of the one I'm stuffing right now, "So what am I supposed to bring?"

"Well we're going to the ice mountain in the Land of Dragons, so you better get a few thick jackets and sweaters so you won't freeze to death." I said, "And then you should just bring some daily items like shampoo and stuff. Demyx said he'll arrange the food and we'll borrow hiking equipments when we get there. Oh and don't forget to bring some basic eating utensils; Demyx is only going to provide the food, not the forks." Hm… Did I miss anything…? I looked at Xemnas' unquestioning expression. Guess not.

-- Next week --

Cold.

That was the first thing coming to my mind when I got off from the gummi ship at the Land of Dragons. I wonder how the people stand the freezing weather here. Jeez, I was shivering uncontrollably! I looked slightly over my shoulder to see Xemnas exiting the ship, looking totally unaffected by the bone-chilling wind. What the hell is that man made out of?!

"Dude, a-aren't you c-cold?" Hell, my voice was shivering too!

"Layer up, you doofus." He laughed; must have been on my face... And threw me his outermost coat. Following up close behind him was Marluxia, much more layered than Xemnas but looking equally warm. Why did Demyx have to bring us here of all mountains?!

"Alright everyone!" Speeeeeak of the devil... "Here's how it's gonna work: you guys are going in groups of three; you really gotta trust each other and be ready to help each other out. These mountains aren't kidding you." He put on a solemn face that didn't quite suit his normally giddy personality, "Can I see your groups?"

People murmured and mashed around until clear and distinct groups stood apart from each other. I, of course, grouped with my two closest buddies here.

"Okay, Zexion will bring you over to the hiking equipment center and brief you over on safety. Then I'll show you guys your routes!" He yelled over the mumbling crowd as they followed behind the periwinkle-haired man.

I was relieved to find that the equipment center had thermostat; so I wouldn't have to freeze my ass off. Before Zexion took off, I saw him and Demyx exchange a suspicious glance and a bump of their hands. Zexion almost smirked wide out as he watched Demyx walking back to the gummi ship to continue unloading luggages. Man... I wish I could be doing the same thing with a certain brunette... Shaking my head I followed the rest of the group as they conveniently cut the queue to get everyone their equipments; after all, I heard that Demyx paid extra for the VIP pass so we could go faster.

----

I was going to take a customer's order when Kairi suddenly called me. Turning back I saw that she was ready to leave for the day. It was the end of her shift.

"Yeah, Kairi?" I asked, head slightly tilting.

"Hey, how long does your shift have left?"

"Um…" I fished in my pocket for the watch that Riku have given me before, "About another half an hour I think."

"How about we go karaoke after work?" She smiled. Did I hear that right? She's asking me to go happy-hour with her? "Along with those guys of course." She threw her thumb over her shoulder where I saw our other colleagues getting ready for the evening.

"…Alright I guess." I shrugged. A little party wouldn't hurt, right? I nodded and smiled as she went back to the employee's room to wait for me with the others and placed my watch back into my pocket. My fingers brushed over the sturdy corner of my cell phone, reminding me that it had not rang off for almost a week now. Riku had stopped calling me (or at least try to)… Am I being disliked? I guess he would be pretty pissed… Ignoring his calls like that… It's been more than a year now… Wow, time really flies. The customer's waving hand dragged me back into reality. Quickly I went over to continue my work.

* * *

Please leave a review! I'm feeling depressed and some review cookies will really do good on me :-( 


	12. Chapter 12

"Bye!" I waved farewell to my colleagues as we separated ways. Kairi went the same way I did so we decided to take a stroll.

"So, are you going to go home now?" She asked.

"Yeah." I nodded, "My brother's home." OOPS! It slipped!

"Your brother's?" She echoed, "Why? Don't you have your own house…?"

Nice one, Sora. Now you get yourself into that awkward moment where you don't know whether you should spill the beans out or keep them in the jar for rotting. Why am I always like this?! A sigh escaped my lips; I guess a little heart-talk wouldn't hurt…

"I'm gay, Kairi."

"I already know that." She rolled her eyes slightly derisively. I must've told her some time when I was bored then I guess. "What does this have to do with you living in your brother's house?"

"Well, I'm married, too." _Now_ she showed shock. "I have a partner, his name is Riku. He's… messed up."

"Messed up? How?"

"He was addicted to cocaine." I answered dully, having told the story for so many times to different people, "I just can't accept it… Everything that we had… Our time together, our own little house, things that we've been through together… He could just throw all that away for some stupid drug. So I signed him up for a rehab program. It's also because it's become a real problem. And I wouldn't go back to my own house just because it hurts so much to even lay eyes on a photo of him." Yeah, I took out his picture from my wallet. The place where there used to be an angelic smile is now empty. Just like my heart… I can't bear it. I feel like I'm living for nothing…

"You know what your problem is?" Kairi suddenly asked. NO I don't know what my problem is! If I knew I wouldn't be like this right now!

"No." I frowned.

"You need to let it go." She waved her finger as if she was super intelligent or something, "You need to forgive him and his mistakes. Isn't that what marriage is about? Love your partner for life and forgive any mistakes he or she makes."

Forgive…? Is that what has been missing about me? I guess… I know it now. "Thanks, Kairi." I smiled.

"No problem." She grinned back and waved for a taxi, "I'm gonna go now, okay? Just think about it a little more, then maybe you'll stop running away from reality."

I was running away? "Okay, bye." I watched the taxi starting and driving into the darkness of the night. Maybe she's right… I was so caught up with my angriness and feelings that I've forgotten to think about Riku's feeling. I didn't want to face the fact that Riku has changed; and that was how I was running away. Nodding to myself, I decided that it's time I stop bothering Roxas and Axel.

----

It snowed slightly when Xemnas, Marluxia and I started out on our route. Thankfully we were all given snow goggles and masks so our faces didn't have to endure the harshness of blizzard and strong wind. We trudged in the snow boots with the heavy ice axes in our hands, ready to start an adventure.

We arrived at the foot of a frozen waterfall. We were the only group that had ice axe in our list of equipments. Great… Demyx gave us the hardest route. After a moment of collaboration we decided that I should be the first one to go. Strapping things securely around me, I raised my ice axe and dug it into the solid ice. After making sure it was all secured like the instructor back at the equipment center taught us so, I started climbing up.

It took us about an hour until there was a flat iceberg balcony about a quarter up the waterfall and we decided to climb up to there before making a stop. Repeatedly I dug my ice axe and climbed higher in advance. My body was all sore and the only thing I saw was the balcony where rest awaited.

Finally I managed to clamber onto the iceberg and took a moment of a sigh before Xemnas protested and I helped him up. He moved behind me and settled, breathing heavily. The sky has cleared by then and there were actually warm rays of sunlight showering down. Feeling warmer, I removed my ski mask and the furry hood (I know it's girly for a man, but it's warmer) from my head.

Marluxia must have thought something was funny because he laughed, "Hahaha! Your hair blends into the snow so it looks like you haven't got any-AAAAH!!!!"

SHIT! Marluxia lost balance when one of his axes picked on an unsteady melting ice rock. I flung out both my arms, grabbing onto his remaining arm that wasn't dangling. God was it heavy… Aaaah! I feel Marluxia slipping!!

"Aaaahhhhh!!! Riku! I'm slipping…"

"Xemnas!!" I yelled out; what the HELL was he doing?!

He immediately rushed to where I was, trying to help and grabbed onto Marluxia's arm. It was then I heard a spine-chilling crack and all actions halted stiff.

"The balcony's not gonna hold!" Xemnas howled, his amber eyes showing fear for the first time as they stared at the white zigzag lines that were creeping along.

"Oh shit…" Marluxia whimpered, tears forming on the rim of his eyes, "Let go of my hand! Let go of my hand! This whole thing's gonna fall off! All three of us will die then! Let go!" What the fuck is he talking about?!! He's not sacrificing himself!

"No, Marluxia!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, "I'm not letting go of you!"

"Riku! You have to! Or all three of us will die!" He insisted, "You guys shouldn't die because of me! You have families! You both have someone waiting for you to go back! You can't die! I'll give up…"

"No! Don't give up, Marluxia!!" I shouted back, feeling the balcony slowly inclining the tiniest bit, "It takes more courage to live on!!"

The last words seemed to have an effect as he narrowed his eyes with determination and threw his dangling arm up. With three persons' effort we finally managed to pull Marluxia back onto the sliding balcony, all of us instantly going to the other side so the balcony settled back onto the rock like a see-saw.

For a good while we breathed heavily, despite the freezing air scorching our lungs. Marluxia rested an arm on my shoulder, his eyes staring into mine with inaudible gratitude.

I smiled, "You're welcomed."

* * *

A/N: Everyone's been saying that Kairi seems to like Sora... Does she really? 'Cause that's not what I intended.

Anyway, reviews will be nice :)


	13. Chapter 13

My heart was heavy when Roxas drove me back to the old house. I haven't been there for more than a year or so now. Wait… has it only been a little more than a year? Strange, it feels like it's been forever since I've last seen Riku... My heart twisted at the mere mention of him. I miss him so much… I must've buried my head into my arms because that's when my brother took a glance at me and asked if I was okay.

"Yeah…" I lifted my head back up and sat straight. "I'm just feeling… nostalgic, you know? I haven't been home for so long… I don't even know what it looks like inside now."

Roxas sighed and nodded. I feel so guilty every time I see him like this. This whole problem was just me and Riku's problem; but I had forcefully involved him into this mess. I'm sure I was a disturbance to him and Axel. After all, I _did_ nearly walk in on them the last time…

"So where's Axel?" I asked when I was reminded of the missing redhead.

"I don't know… He said he's got work again and stuff…" My brother said a little sullenly, "He's been missing for quite a while now. I kinda got used to it… Why do you ask?"

Immediately I got that weird feeling, "Nothing. Just wondering. You know, Roxas, you gotta give him a harsher leash. He can't always just go missing like this."

My blond twin chuckled at this. What?! Did I say something wrong? It's reasonable! Roxas just has too much trust on Axel!

"What?" I squeaked, batting his hand. His hand let go of the wheel suddenly, causing his car to deviate to the left side. A car to our left horned loudly and Roxas quickly returned the car to normal. We sat there with wide eyes at first; then after we exchanged a glance, we burst into laughter.

We finally arrived in fifteen minutes. The sky was clear and the sun was bright just like it always was. Nothing in the neighborhood seemed to have changed at all. My feet stepped closer to the house on its own, while my heart was racing away from the old memories. My eyes were glued to the concrete pavement. Roxas was ahead of me and he touched my shoulder when he saw something was wrong.

"Sora… Look."

Unwillingly I raised my blue eyes up to the wall that used to be clean white. Now, upon the aged white paint, fresh red graffiti spray was layered over. 'PAY OR DEATH', the crimson color spelled, with various insults and curse words alongside. I heard our neighbor's house's door open and I felt eyes on me. Disdainful, scornful and pitying eyes. Roxas glared at the neighbor until the latter walked quickly away with belittlement. He patted my shoulder again, taking my small bag of luggage from my hand and led me into my own house.

--

The hiking trip lasted for a week and finally ended. With a delighted heart I returned to the much warmer Pride Lands. The first thing I wanted to do was take a bath and sleep, since I was exhausted from the gummi ship trip. But as Xemnas and I walked towards our dorm, a nurse came up to me.

"Mr. Riku, your relatives left you a message while you were gone."

My smile dissipated from my face immediately as I urged her, "Who was it?? Who?"

She held out a piece of paper to me, "He said his name was Roxas. He wanted to tell you that Sora had moved back to your old house."

…

My brain malfunctioned for a moment before I finally registered the last information she told me. What does the note say? I hastily unfolded it.

Sora had decided to move back to our house, but the loan sharks had almost destroyed it. He and Roxas rearranged everything and painted the house again. Everything seemed fine now.

My heart dropped at the last sentence.

'_Tell Riku to not call Sora. Sora doesn't want to talk yet.'_


	14. Chapter 14

I woke up to sounds of metal thuds, staring into empty darkness with fear. I felt like I was being paranoid again… But the unceasing noise outside proved otherwise. Feeling my way through, I walked out of the bedroom and stared at the front door. The dim white street light outside filtered through the obscured window glass into a disturbed blob. Everything was silent and unmoving at first, until suddenly a black silhouette of a man appeared within seconds along with a loud THUMP on the door. I jumped and squeaked, tightening the blanket which I didn't notice bringing out around me. Although the obscured glass had blurred the man's face to something impossible to see, I could feel his eyes burning into mine. I stepped back towards the tea table, pondering whether I should call Roxas or the cops. His arms were up against the door, pounding loudly, demanding entrance. I made no response and observed. When he deemed his pounding as a futile attempt, he turned back and I heard the sounds of spray cans.

I immediately realized what was going on when a trail of red graffiti spray flew over the window, but I dared not to stop him. It was probably just another _beautiful_ graffiti artwork consisting of slogans such as "RETURN THE MONEY YOU FUCKERS" or "PAY NOW OR YOU'RE DEAD". As long as I clean it in the morning as soon as possible, I don't think the paint will stay…

-- Later that day --

"Whoa... you look terrible, Sora." Roxas commented as I entered his car.

"Meh." I shrugged, "Just cleaned another round of paint. And cleaned up a dead cat on the porch."

"What?! What happened?!" He freaked out instantly. That's Roxas for you.

"It's okay, Rox." I rolled my eyes as I inserted my seatbelt into its sheath, "It's nothing new. You know how loan sharks are."

Roxas replied with a dubious stare. Oh how paranoid can he get?! "Just go." I said.

--

We had an assembly activity today. Everybody sat in a circle, just like we did on our first day here in this rehab center. The scene _does_ bring back old memories, except that now we are better people. Unlike the beginning of the program when we were all miserable and ill, we are now healthier, stronger, more optimistic and, most importantly, hopeful of our futures.

"Oh man I feel nostalgic!" Marluxia exclaimed beside me. There was a new light around him. I swear I've never seen him smile that joyfully. "We've changed so much in so little time!"

"I wouldn't call almost two years 'a little time'." I replied. After all, I have been Sora-less for one year eight months and two days. Well, I'm not sure about the days, because I was "severely unconscious" when I first got here.

"It is, if you compare it to your future." Zexion's voice suddenly interrupted. Whoa now, since when did Mr. Too-Cool-For-You learned to encourage other people?

"Yeah Riku!" Demyx cheered on beside him, "Hey, why don't you tell us your plans after rehab to start off this seminar?"

Plans after rehab? What plans? I've never thought about this. "Uh… I think…" Time to improvise, Riku. C'mon, give 'em your smartass personality. "I'm first gonna go find Sora." That totally didn't sound smart, AT ALL. But it was the only thing I could think of. "And then I'll try to find a job in my old industry."

"So what was your industry before?"

"I was an intern of a stock trading firm." I had so much more future back then than I do now. It's a shame that I threw away such a good career. And it might be all too late now to try and get back into the business.

"Nice." Demyx nodded approvingly, "Oh, to those of you who're wondering, our rehabilitation program included some service from job finders. By the end of this program next year, I will give out updated information about possible jobs for you guys and you can even have a meeting with job searching specialists."

The truth is, I'm glad Sora signed me up here. Not only am I able to quit my addiction, I had come to learn how to value different things, observe with different perspectives, abide to my responsibility and, most importantly, how to love myself again.

* * *

A/N: This story is back in progress, I am working on it :) For everyone who read this chapter, please leave a review replying to the following question:

Would you like a typical cheesy happy ending for this, or would you like a tragic ending? Please be careful in making your choice because I'm actually considering your opinion!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: (cookie dump) Eat it!!

* * *

_Beep beep! Beep beep! Beep beep!_

I flinched at the loud alarm that had become a part of my life. Groaning I slammed on the button with my arm, the rest of my body still glued to my bed. Man, a bright hot summer day is just not meant for working… Not like there was room for a debtor to bargain. Giving another grunt, I finally crawled out of my comfy bed.

The day started out with my normal routines, I brushed my teeth, washed my face, etc. and took a glance at the calendar.

Whoa.

It's only half a year before Riku comes back?!

My hand squeezed my moogle coffee mug tighter. What am I supposed to do? Do I have to go meet him up? To pick him up from the rehab center and bring him home, and expect everything to work out again? What about his debt? My pathetic life with my pathetic job only allowed me to pay back less than 5 percents of the entire debt. I know I promised him that everything will be fine once he came back; but things are progressing towards anything but that way…

Shit, I'm late for work…!

--

My cell phone rang for the third time within two minutes. I rolled my eyes irritably; how amateur can these newcomers get?!

"I told you a million times, Yuffie, you don't have t-"

"Yuffie?" Uh oh. I thought… "Have you been naughty, Axel?"

I winced; his suggestive diction is one of the things I love about Roxas. "No, baby…"

"Then who did you think I was?" Fuck, who _purrs_ into a phone?! Great way to give me a boner, honey!

"A new girl in the office. Along with the new boss." I glanced at my new supervisor in his little alcove of an office, legs popped up on the desk. Fat silver-haired bastard. _I_ should've been in that office!

"Oh." Roxas' voice grabbed my attention again. "Well, I just wanted to ask you when you're gonna be home…" There was a pause. "'Cause I'm really feelin'…"

Holy. Mother. Of… Ramen…?

"Axel, do I have to file a report to confiscate your cellular mobile device due to your lack of attention on proper work during office hours?"

Dammit. "Rox I have to go. I don't know when I'm gonna be home. Don't wait for me." I snapped my cell shut. "Yes, sir?"

"You can just call me Sephiroth." He said cockily. I had to fight so that I wouldn't roll my eyes. "Anyway, have you made any progress on that marketing report?"

"Yes, actually. I'm just finishing up." By staying way after office hours. I should really charge him for working overtime.

"Don't mind the little details." HOLY FUCK when did he get so close?! Dude! This is way beyond the line of comfort! Too close! Proximity watch dude! I inched away slightly for his face was right next to mine, his aqua eyes staring into my laptop monitor. "Did you put cologne on, Axel?"

"Uh… yes. Why?"

"Nothing." He backed away, straightening up. "That report looks fine, just print it out." He turned as if to return to his office, but paused and turned back. "Oh, and, because I'd like to have a taste of your smell… raw without any artificial fragrance."

…

--

Things are really breaking down to their ends. People in our group have started looking for jobs if their ideal ones required preliminary applications. I myself had sent my own résumé to some firms, including the one I used to work at. I wonder if anyone would wanna hire someone recovered from cocaine addiction…

Ack! Depressed thoughts! I really gotta break this habit. Everything will be fine, I'm sure. Sora promised, didn't he?


	16. Chapter 16

I watched as the clock ticked away. The doctor's words flowed into one ear and slipped right out from the other. How much time is there before this day will end? This week? This month? This year?

"So all in all, you're in good shape to go." Vexen concluded. Rules of listening to a speech: the bottom line.

Thanking Vexen, I nodded and left the room idly. My mind is like a bowl of mixed up fruit salad, you know? There are yummy things like strawberries that you always want to devour, but then there's also the sour orange.

The usual rule is to eat the sour orange first and save the strawberries until the end, right? Dealing with my job applications would be the thing I wanna start with then.

After a trip to my room to get my handwritten résumé, I made it to the career center (or so it was called) to attach it to a few applications. Yes, it was indeed a pain in the ass to contact my old colleagues to find out what jobs were available nowadays, but it had to be done.

As the young receptionist processed my papers, I stared at the reflection in the glass across the clock. Is that really me? The bags under my eyes are gone; my cheekbones no longer stand out on their own; and my eyes are once again teal aqua crystalline. I looked over myself carefully, poking those muscles on my biceps. When did I get these?

Suddenly it dawned to me. It was over the course of these years and those gym days with Xemnas and the meetings with Vexen and the food from Marluxia that made me this way. It was my hope for a better tomorrow and undying love for Sora that lasted me thus far.

_But look at the calendar_, my super-ego told me. To my shock I realized there was only a few weeks (no more than a month) left before this entire rehabilitation program is going to be over.

I don't know what to feel. Should I be happy? Or should I be sad? Of course, you'd think, "oh, happy for sure! You're getting out of the rehab!" But rethinking these past three years, I've probably learned more than I had in my entire life. And I couldn't have possibly made it without having all these people around me. Xemnas, Marluxia, Demyx… Even Zexion.

_It's time to leave, time for a better tomorrow._

But why do I feel like I'm going to miss this?

--

Hmm… I frowned, rubbing my chest a little. My lungs felt weird since this morning, but... whatever. Getting more orders is more important- ah! There's another one!

"Hi. We're going to have a mocha espresso, a raspberry cheesecake and a cappuccino."

"All right, is that all?"

"Yeah."

"Awesome." I said as the customers started to give me the menus. I've been able to memorize orders without notepads for a while now, hehe. Mocha espresso, raspberry cheesecake, cappuccino. Mocha espresso, raspberry cheesecake, cappuccino. Menus go here. Mocha espresso, raspberry cheesecake, cappu-

_Cough! Cough! Cough!_ M-My chest… _Cough! Cough!_

My legs gave in under me. I can't stop coughing.

"Sora! Are you okay?!" I heard Kairi from afar.

I-I can't stop coughing. My lungs burned and my throat was torn. I tried to take a deep breath but the coughing soon retaliated.

I felt myself being helped up amidst the attack. We shuffled into the employee's locker room, my coughing fit finally slowing down.

"A-Ahem… Wow… What just happened?"

"I should be the one asking you!" Kairi whined, "Are you okay?"

I rubbed the left of the middle of my chest, feeling a tension that wasn't easing down but wasn't rising up either. It was just there.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, "Think I just need a water break."

Kairi looked at me like she wasn't believing me as she turned to get me water. I took another deep breath and tried to remember the things the customers ordered. It was a mocha, a raspberry cheesecake, and a…

Damn. I forgot.

--

There isn't much time left in this cycle of rehab program. Awww… I'm gonna miss everyone. It's my first time after all. But well, look at it this way, everyone's gotten better and became better people, right? That's what mattered.

"Demyx, c'mon, the gathering's going to start." Zexion tapped my shoulder. Oh, right! This is the last real "briefing" we will have with the patients. The next time we'll meet altogether would be the last night here before everybody's off back to their homes.

"Demyx!"

"Oh! Okay." I approached the circle and sat down in my chair. "Hi everyone, how are you doing?"

They all replied with nonchalance. The good kind, yeah? Like, they know what's going on, and we've gotten so familiar with each other that we don't need to talk it right out to know that we'll miss everyone.

"So, it's kinda sad, but I should really be happy, because you guys are almost there!" I grinned. It was kind of hard. "Zexion's giving out your schedules for the remaining weeks here. As you can see, different groups will meet up to make memoir cards for the staffs here, our doctors and nurses. There's one more lecture lesson following, and I think this is the most benefitting one out of all the others, so you guys should all show up. And during the last week, each of you have a scheduled time to be examined by the doctor and interviewed by me and Zexion. You must be there, because the law requires us to check that you're good to go before you leave. And on the last day, we'll have a party through the whole night!"

I paused. Everybody was looking at me with something impalpable in their eyes. What was it? "So things you might wanna start checking now is that you've all gotten your job applications down. You will also wanna start packing up now. Just pack something each night for half an hour and keep on doing it for the weeks and you should be fine. Also, we will provide a bus ride back to your homes after the last day if you need one. There's a sheet on my door that you guys can sign up on. Just write down your name and address of the destination. The information of the leaving time is on that sheet. I'll assume that the people who didn't sign up has some way to get home so be sure you contact your family or friends to pick you up. The sign-up deadline is the Saturday before the last week." Did I miss anything? "Alright, any questions?"

There was silence. No one made a sound but everybody was still paying attention. It was just a very solemn silence, acknowledging the end of a journey full of memories.

"Okay, so we're good to go." I was really holding back my tears… I'm just seriously going to miss this! "I'll see everyone at your interviews."


	17. Chapter 17

I was going to turn in an order to the chef when the telephone rang. Dutifully I went to pick the speaker up.

"Hello, this is Twilight Café, how may I help you?"

"Paying your debts would be very helpful." Shit. "How long do you plan to run away from it, little guy?"

"Where the hell did you get the phone number?!" I asked almost angrily. I can't believe they're seriously coming up to the doors!

"You know, yellow pages are free across the worlds." I could _hear_ him smirking smugly.

"Damn you." I cursed. I know; I really shouldn't do that when they have my life on their hands, but I just can't take it anymore! "I will pay you back as soon as I can, just don't call here anymore!"

"We won't make it difficult for you, as long as you cooperate with us." I heard a few guys laughing in the background. These gangsters are seriously trying to…! "You know, there's another way to cooperate with us, too. And this way will make it a lot easier for you." There was more laughter in the back. I almost broke the speaker. "You're pretty cute, if you'd just get down to your knees and-"

Sora slammed the speaker back into its place. _I. Fucking. __**Hate**__. This._ He could feel his face going flush red and the veins in his temple pounding his skull with a pulse. Furiously he resumed working, a chef calling the completion of a dish right on time. Without a sound he picked up the plate, his expression dark and menacing. The pulse pounding in his head got worse and his lungs started tightening.

_Cough! Cough!_

He looked away and covered his mouth to prevent coughing into the food, but that did nothing to cease his coughing. No, it only got worse. Soon his legs started trembling and he could no longer hold the plate properly, the white porcelain slipping out of his hand and smashing onto the floor.

"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, rushing to the brunet's side. He was crunched over, trying hard to compose himself. "Sora, are you okay?" Patting her friend's back, she could do nothing but wait until Sora stop coughing.

As the itch in his lungs traced away, Sora realized something was wrong. He let go of his lips and looked.

There was blood on his hand.

"Oh my God…" The maroon-haired girl whispered with horror, staring at the thick liquid and then at Sora's wide skeptical eyes. "Sora, we need to take you to the hospital!"

"No-but, Kairi…" Sora started, his voice coarse and weak, "There's work…"

"Screw the work! I'm telling boss to let you off for the rest of the day!" She spoke bluntly before disappearing into the manager's office.

--

"We did a comprehensive body check with you, and it seems like you have the early signs of having pneumonia."

What..? But… That can't be!

"Don't worry." The doctor reassured me, "We haven't completely confirmed it yet, that's why we want you to make an appointment for an X-ray check so we can diagnose it. You're still in the early stages, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Do I have to be hospitalized then?" That is the thing I'm most concerned with. I can't afford to miss work!

"No, no." The doctor waved carelessly, "Pneumonia isn't very hard to treat. You don't even need to be hospitalized. I'll just have to give you prescription for antibiotics, but let's not go into that now; we'll worry about that later." He made a few notes on a paper. "Just make sure that before you leave here, go to the reception and make an appointment with the nurse for the X-ray check, here's the note." He handed me a piece of paper with a comforting smile. I took it and nodded doubtfully.

--

One, two, three… Ack! Another one! Damn, stupid girl can't get anything straight. I bet the only reason she's here is because of that asshole boss of hers.

"Yuffie! Get over here!" I cried out. And she came running like she just finished a 26 miles marathon.

"There're at least four mistakes in the first graph of this report." I pointed on the paper accusingly, "Redo it!"

She took her report guiltily and went away. Hah. That should teach her a lesson.

"Axel, come see me in my office."

Damn it!

"Yes, sir?"

"Sephiroth."

"Sorry." I grumbled.

"Have a seat." He gestured to the chair across the desk from him. Grudgingly I sat down. He lifted his legs off the desk and stood up, ambling over to the window, observing the employees outside through the blinds. "I notice that you… _harass_ my nephew more than you complain to other employees. Is there any explanation for that?"

What?! What harassing?! I didn't! "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about. I've never harassed Yuffie. It was her mistake."

"Oh?" He closed the blinds with a snap, and turned around. "Well then," He inched closer, and I tried to slide away on the wheeled office chair, but his strong hand fixed the chair on the spot. "Wouldn't you fix her mistakes for her? Since you're her boss…"

Wahhh I could feel his hand on my thigh! I wanted to pull away but I couldn't. I looked to a side, refusing to acknowledge our physical closeness. Shit. Why is my face so hot?!

"W-Why are you doing this?" I did NOT just whimper, did I?

"I already told you." His face got yet closer, his hand grabbing the back of my collar. I tried futilely to push him away by his chest, but he only gripped my wrists. "I want to taste you, raw."

Fucking A! He's licking my collarbone! Just as I was about to kick him in the balls, he did the most unimaginably cheap thing: grabbing my crotch.

God should've damned my libido, not my conscience.

And so Yuffie wondered where Axel went when she finished fixing her report.

--

Today was the last day. I've sinned, I've broken hearts, and now I've redeemed myself. Tomorrow, I will no longer be the old Riku; I will no longer be a drug addict; I will start over; I am refreshed; I am reborn.

"Riku! Stop zoning out and come help me!" Marluxia yelled.

With a smile I went over to the barbeque grill, grabbing charcoal from a sack to put under the grilling rack. Marluxia smiled warmly and lit the fire. I watched the bright flame crackle and burn, thinking about everything and nothing.

The first thing my mind drifted to was Sora again. I wonder how he is now. It's been a total of _three years_. No doubt that he and I both changed a lot. I signed up for the bus ride back home, partly because I knew Sora wouldn't come pick me up, and partly because I didn't want to see him just yet. I think… I'm still unfit to love him. Roxas called me, and I told him my arrangements. I'll rent a small place and live there by myself for a while first, and when I think it's time, I'll go see Sora. It would be better for both of us this way.

"Riku? Riku? What are you so absorbed into?" Marluxia shook my shoulder lightly.

"Huh? Oh nothing." I grinned, catching Xemnas far from us at the outskirts of the beach, sitting in the sand with cell phone in hand. "That lucky bastard. Must be having his partner taking him home."

"Ha, yeah." Marluxia sighed, "Seems like Saïx is going to pick him up from here."

"Psshh." I snorted, "What about you? Aren't you gonna find your father?"

"Naw." He waved it off, eyes staring far into the distance. _Having you here is enough…_ "He's not gonna come anyway."

"Oh." I shrugged, and the topic just died off. Gradually the fire grew hotter and hotter until it was suitable for grilling. Marluxia called Demyx and the latter came running with some juicy steaks, a grin on his face as always.

We sat around the fire at night. Chatting and joking and passing time. The night was dark and the air was breezy. Stars sparkled in the clear sky like jewels on a layer of velvet. I rested on my hands, closing my eyes momentarily to enjoy the peace.

"_You're not alone;_

_Together we stand,_

_I'll be by your side,_

_You know I'll take your hand…"_

Someone started singing to the quiet tune, and soon it evolved into a group singing, our shoulders slightly swaying to the beat.

"…_No I won't give in…_

_Keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through,_

_We'll make it through._

_Just stay strong,_

'_Cause you know I'm here for you,_

_I'm here for you._

_There's nothing you can say;_

_Nothing you can do._

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth,_

_So keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through,_

_We'll make it through._

_So far away, I wish you were here;_

_Before it's too late this could all disappear."_

Sora, I wish you're here with me…

"…_And it comes to an end…_

_With you by my side I will fight and defend._

_I'll fight and defend…_

_Keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through,_

_We'll make it through._

_Just stay strong,_

'_Cause you know I'm here for you,_

_I'm here for you._

_There's nothing you can say;_

_Nothing you can do._

_There's no other way when it comes to the truth,_

_So keep holding on,_

'_Cause you know we'll make it through,_

_We'll make it through…"_

Amidst the unmoving shining stars, a trail of bright meteor flashed. I made a wish before it disappeared.


	18. Chapter 18

"Hey Riku, when we get back there, do you wanna just hang out for a while in the city?" Marluxia asked, sitting next to his overstuffed bag on Xemnas' bed, watching as Riku packed up the final little things.

"Sure." Riku shrugged, scanning his room for the last time, pondering if he had left anything. The watch on Marluxia's wrist beeped, signaling for their time to go.

"Let's go." He said, standing up and taking his bag. Riku nodded, though he looked up and around the room again. This was finally it. He's leaving here, and hopefully not coming back ever again. At least not for the same reason.

The bus was waiting quietly out in the lot where the land was a layer of thin sand and the willow trees dangled to provide shade against the bright sun of Pride Land. One or two people were ahead of Riku and Marluxia, boarding up the bus. Tentatively, the silver-haired man walked up to the door and helped himself up the broad stairs that are usually found in tall and big buses. Demyx was sitting in the first row, smiling gleefully at him. He smiled back and continued down the narrow aisle, finding an empty row of three seats. Placing his bag into the overhead cabinet, he situated into the window seat, Marluxia sitting down next to him.

--

I gulped down my antibiotic pills when Kairi came into the locker room. I smiled at her, finishing my glass of water. She stared down at me, a frown on her face.

"Sora, are you sure you're gonna be alright?"

"I'll be fine." I rolled my eyes with a casual laugh, "See? I took my pills." I shook the empty glass to her.

"Well okay…" She shrugged as she took off the waitress uniform, which is just a thin jacket to be worn over your own clothes, and stuffed it into her locker. "I'll be going now, take care."

I hummed my comprehension and watched her leave. Well… Time to start my shift.

--

The roads led to the city, of metropolitan and of modern. A new light had dawned onto this place in just three short years. People were still walking on the busy streets, hustling along with their lives. But here and there I could find new things that hadn't been there before I left. A building in construction, a photography exhibition in promotion, a parking lot in abandonment. All of these rolled past the window as the bus stumbled down the road that needed to be repaired.

Demyx stood up and announced the next stop, which was the closest station to the motel I was planning to stay in. Marluxia stood up and retrieved our bags from the cabinet. I muttered a thank you, my heart feeling nostalgic.

We landed in front of a convenient store. My first breath of the air in this city was refreshing and relaxing. Marluxia smiled and we started walking down the street, just looking at the place that we both had once lived in.

"Hey, do you want to go get a drink or something?" He nudged my shoulder, pointing to a coffee shop ahead of us, 'Twilight Café'.

I nodded and we went into the cozy café. There wasn't much temperature difference, for the weather outside was as pleasant as it was inside. Lucky us, we found a table next to the large window panel of the front of the shop. It was nice to sit in the warm sun.

A girl gave us a couple of menus, before stating that her shift will be over in two minutes and another waiter will serve us. I opened the menu, and realized that I didn't have any money. Wincing I placed down the menu humbly. I guess I'm having water.

"Have you decided yet?" Marluxia asked, looking at me curiously.

Sheepishly I nodded, "Yeah." But I didn't tell him what I was going to get. Damn it was too embarrassing. He looked over my shoulder and signaled for a waiter.

--

Strawberry chiffon for table 4. "Here you go. Enjoy." I smiled at the pleasant-looking family, laughing as the little girl toddler immediately went for the dessert. That's one order done. As I turned around I caught another customer raising his hand, waiting for a waiter. I nodded to him, acknowledging our silent contract. After all, more customers means more tips.

I nearly bumped into a colleague when I went over there, luckily I held his arms and moved out of the way. Taking out my notepad, I smiled at the customer who called for me, "Hi guys." So there was another customer, only I didn't see him because my colleague blocked the way. Naturally I swung my head from the first customer to the second, "What can I-"

--

A waiter bumped into our waiter as he came over, blocking my view of our server. My stomach felt queasy for I was only going to order water.

"Hi guys."

Wait… that voice…

"What can I-"

I looked up.

No way…

My heart stopped beating. Literally. At that millionths of a second. Everything seemed to have stopped. It was only the teeniest fraction of a second, yet it felt like eternity. I stared and stared and stared in disbelief at the eyes before me. Those eyes that were on the picture, but not without the signs of passages of suffering.

"Sora…"

_THUNK!_ He fell onto the floor. Fainted.

"SORA!!"


	19. Chapter 19

Loud footsteps vibrated the hallway of the hospital as the blond rushed down. He stopped abruptly past a window and almost _burst_ into the room, eyes wide with skepticism at the body sleeping in the bed. The next thing those irises located was the silver-haired man that has caused all this.

"YOU!!" Roxas roared, ready to jump and knock down Riku at any moment. Axel stopped him by locking his arms around his fiancé's shoulder.

"Roxas! You'll disturb Sora!" He yelled, trying to calm the impulsive blond.

"WHY IS _HE_ HERE?!" Roxas merely screamed back.

"I met him coincidentally at the café he was working in…" Riku replied, undeserved guilt whelmed all over his face.

"Roxas! Just calm down!" Axel tried again, pulling Roxas out of the room. The blond was at tears and slumped into the chairs in the hallway outside the room, burying his face into his hands.

"Baby, it's okay…" The redhead frowned.

"I can't do anything…" Roxas sobbed. "I can't even protect my own brother!" He kicked his ankle into the leg of the chair irately. Axel gulped, forcing the sorrow from his eyes. He took the blond into his arms, embracing him tightly.

"It's alright…" He cooed, feeling the wetness on his shoulder where Roxas' eyes were shut tight. He hugged him yet tighter. "It'll be alright…"

--

Inside the room, the clamor had indeed woken the brunet up. Breathing steadily, his eyes flickered to life. He first looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was. Riku walked up and sat down hesitantly, wondering whether he should smile or weep.

"Hey." He did both. A smile with tears running down his cheeks. His hand found Sora's, a natural urge of lacing their fingers rushing to it. Sora's hand first tingled lightly and pulled away a little timidly. But Riku tried again and succeeded in holding his partner's hand. And Sora no longer pulled away.

"I've missed you…" More tears were yet to come. Sora couldn't reply because of the oxygen mask over his mouth, but the welled-up eyes told everything.

--

Later that evening, the doctor had checked Sora again and let him be free of the oxygen mask.

"Why didn't you tell me you got pneumonia?" Riku asked, concern written all over his face. "Why didn't you talk to me at all?"

"I thought you'd hate me…" Sora pouted.

"What? Why would I hate you?" Riku stared at Sora with perplexity. "Sora, I will _never_ hate you…"

"I thought that you'd hate me for just sending you away like that…" At this, Riku laughed.

"You _helped_ me, Sora." He played idly with Sora's hand. "You made me realize just how important you are to me. Why would I hate you for that?"

Marluxia's heart sank a little as he heard that from the outside. The door was not closed.

"Riku…" Sora wanted to cry again; but instead he sat up and hugged the man before him, an action he'd been dying to do.

--

"Here." Riku handed Sora his small bag of luggage that included things Roxas brought over for the short stay at the hospital. "Roxas said he'll be here in ten minutes."

They went down to the parking lot and waited. Soon Roxas appeared with his silver corvette. The bags were loaded and they were ready to go; but while Sora climbed into the car, Riku remained standing there.

"Riku? What are you doing? Get in." Sora looked at him with confusion.

"Sora… This isn't what I planned…" Riku mumbled in his quietest voice. "I don't think I can go back with you yet…"

"What?!" The brunet almost yelled.

"I…" He stuttered, "I don't know what I'd do."

"Where do you think you're going?!"

"I don't know… I was planning on staying at some motel or something… I'm just not really ready… I don't want to hurt you again."

"Argh what 'hurt you' or not, you're so annoying!" Roxas interrupted impatiently, a derisive smirk on his face, "What? Are you chickening out?"

Riku frowned. "Man, I really don't want to be picked on by you…" He grumbled under his breath. Sora sighed and left the car, standing back in front of Riku.

"Riku… Please…" Sora closed his eyes and hung his head, his hands finding Riku's, "Don't leave me again anymore…"

Riku could barely resist that vulnerable look of Sora's. And all resistance crumbled when the brunet opened his eyes and said, "Let's go home."

--

Both Riku and Sora were asleep by the time Roxas got them to their house, Sora's head slumped against Riku's shoulder. Roxas slowed his car down and expected some movement, only to find them asleep when he looked at the rear-view mirror.

"Both of you wake up now. 3…2…"

"We're woken up!" Sora was used to Roxas' counter tactic so he jumped up, causing Riku to slide down and hit his head onto the seat and wake up too. "Riku, let's go! It's not pretty when Roxie gets mad!"

After much hassle they managed to gather all their belongings and get out of Roxas' car. Indeed they've forgotten their previous grieves and acted like free children when they were with each other. Smiles and laughter were on their faces as they returned home.

Sora turned the lights on and instantly Riku was in nostalgia. This home… He hadn't been here for three whole years. And he definitely missed it. Remembrance came back and the smile on him diminished.

"It's late…" Sora looked at the clock and sighed.

"Yeah…" Riku placed his bag onto somewhere on the floor. "I'll sleep in the couch tonight."

"What? Why?"

"Sora… Don't ask why." The silver-haired man sighed tiredly as he bounced onto the couch, "Just do it…"

"But Riku…" He frowned. "What is it?"

"It's nothing. It's just… I need to reevaluate my status right now. You know?" He massaged his exhausted eyes, "I need to think…"

"O-Okay…" Sora was still looking at his partner while his legs started moving to their own accords. It was almost as if an invisible force was forcing him to go to his room while he wanted to stay with Riku. "I'll leave the door open, okay…? If you need anything…" He looked as if he was going to cry. He really didn't want to go… Really didn't want to. He was almost begging his legs to go slower just so he could be in Riku's presence for a little longer.

"Okay." Riku nodded, noticing Sora's pouty face and unwilling movement.

Sora turned his head to the direction he was walking to, but turned back again. This repeated for a few times.

_What the hell?! You idiot!_Riku scolded himself in the head, _he's begging you to go get him! Goddamnit, Riku! You're such an idiot!! You know you want him!_

Sora looked back one last time, finally accepting that Riku would not come with him tonight…

But his pout was too cute to pass up. Strong muscled arms wrapped around Sora's shoulder, pressing the brunet back against Riku. Cerulean eyes were widened with shock at first, but they softened as Sora smiled warmly, his hands resting up on Riku's arms.

The silver-haired man hugged Sora tighter, heaving a heavy yet relieved sigh. "I missed you so much…"

"I missed you too…" Sora rested his head on Riku's shoulder, turning a little and thus making their lips less than an inch away…

Sora's lips were soft and delicate no matter what hard times he's been through. Oh how Riku have missed this sweetness. How could he have found the drugs to be more addictive than this? He could no longer remember, because right now he is damn sure as hell that a kiss with Sora is _waaaaaaay_ better than any drugs. And definitely more addictive.

As their kiss got more heated, Sora turned around, pulling Riku closer to himself. One hand of his was in Riku's hair, the other fisting over Riku's shoulder. They didn't want to break apart, until they were forced by the lack of air. And Riku lifted Sora up, letting the brunet wind his legs around his waist. Sora looked down with half-closed eyes, diving for his lover's lips again. Riku tried with much effort to maneuver around in the half-dark house. They managed up the stairs safely, but then Sora was grinding his hips into Riku's, making the latter hiss and stumble back a little before hurrying his way into the bedroom.

The bed bounced softly. Their lips sealed immediately again as Riku straddled the brunet, moving his lips down to Sora's jawbone, then at his earlobe.

"…Riku…" Sora's breath hitched.

"Sora…" Hazed aquamarine eyes looked at the subject of affinity. "I love you…"

"I love you too…" Sora replied instantly as if it was the last time he'd get to say it. That was all the push Riku needed, and he allowed his mind to go blank, his hands free to undress whatever they feel for.

And they touched everywhere they could. This plane of skin, the map of this beautiful body long neglected; it was just how it was years ago. The beauty was still there, as it has always been. No words were needed between them anymore; only movements, an eye expression; a kiss.

Sora dug his fingers into Riku's back so hard that it left trails of red even though his nails were evenly cut and well kept. He screamed and moaned and squeaked and made noises he had never really quite made even in the early stages of their marriage. He had never known pleasure this great. He couldn't even control his body anymore, just letting the bliss taking over. He could only manage to scream out Riku's name as they reached their climaxes, both of their entire beings plunged into pure euphoria, their souls combining as one.

--

The light had cascaded into this house again; the place seemed perfect with completion. All around the room was white, the morning sun glowing brightly. Sora smiled, hearing the birds' unintentional chirpings creating a harmony. He played idly with the firm hand on his lean tummy, feeling secured in the strong pair of arms wrapped around his waist. His finger brushed on a thumb playfully, himself grinning like a child when the hand was tickled and twitched, its master shuffling a little behind him.

"Hm…"

"Good morning." Sora whispered, nuzzling his head back to the shoulder.

"…Good morning, beautiful." Riku smiled; his mind still in sleep.

"What do you want for breakfast?" Sora looked just like a beloved innocent little wife.

"Hm… I want pancakes, turkey breast, beacon, scrambled eggs…" The silver-haired man counted, "And coffee."

"That's a lot for breakfast!"

"Of course." Riku replied matter-of-factly. "How else do I get the energy to go to work and protect you?"

"You got work?!" The brunet turned his head sideways, eyes filled with surprise and glee.

"Mm-hm." Riku gave an accomplished smirk.

"Oh my god!" Sora sat up to turn around and hugged Riku lovingly, "I'm so proud of you! Oooh, I have to get up and make breakfast now!"

"Awww can't we stay in bed for a little longer?"

"No! C'mon, Riku! Let's go take a shower together! Aren't you gonna be late, too?" Sora was fully awake now, sitting up and swinging Riku's arm around. Seeing as the hyped brunet was not going to let him sleep for any longer, he groaned tiredly and smiled, letting Sora take him into the bathroom.

* * *

A/N: Okay, this is the most current chapter I've got so far. So now I'd like to readdress my question before: **Which ending would you like to see after this, a happy ending, or a tragic ending?** I've got one tally for tragic and two for happy so far, and somebody suggested me to do both, which I don't think I'm able to (because it's hard).

And yes, the story's not over yet, if you haven't figured that out. I'm estimating a total of 25 chapters for this story, which means we have about 6 more to go.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Poll results demand for a tragic ending! But since there are many people who wanted happy endings, I'll make it less tragic than I have in mind. And as promised, Sora and Riku will have a happy ending.

* * *

Day by day our lives restored itself to its normality. Riku went to work regularly and came home right afterwards. I told him he could go hang out a little, but he kept saying that he wanted to prove that I can trust him. I can't help but smile every time he said that, because the truth is, I'd trust him no matter what.

"Sora I'm home!" Riku called out, closing the front door. I put down the spatula in my hand and walked out, helping him to take his suit off.

"How was your day?" We are just like a normal husband-and-wife. Except, of course, I'm not a 'wife'.

"It's good." He loosened the tie on his neck. "But… well…"

"…What is it?" I asked doubtfully. He looked as if he was guilty of something…

"You see, Sora. I'm thinking of quitting."

"What?!" I heard myself squeak, "But you-"

"No, no, no. It's not like that." He held my hands in his. Then what is he trying to say? "The thing is, I think the way things are going in my office is too slow. Like, _really_ slow."

"Then what are you planning to do…?"

"I'm thinking of becoming an individual trader, Sora." He looked into me, his eyes full of hope and optimism. "I feel like I could make so much more if I do this on my own. But I… I'll need to invest my own money on it. So that's why I'm telling you… I want to get an approval from you first."

From me?! "You silly, I don't know a thing about your business!" I pinched his nose. "How would my advice help?"

"Well, you make me feel confident, for one." He grinned and I could feel myself blushing. "And really, a risk is a risk. I know I can do well, I just need a boost."

I looked into his eyes and realized that all he wanted was some comfort and reassurance. I sighed, nodding my head. "Alright, go do whatever you think will help."

I didn't make the wrong choice. Riku got things done much faster by himself, although now I often heard him yelling into his cell phone. Oh well. Now he worked at home, and all he needed was a few computer screens that linked him to the current graphs which I guess were the stock market. I don't know; all I know was that our debt kept decreasing month by month and the loan sharks bothered us less and less. Riku tried to persuade me to quit my work; but I refused. It's better to save some money as backup, yeah? Even though I might not save a lot… Oh well. I'm happy with the way we are.

--

I can't concentrate on my work. Is he there? I don't see him in his office. Why am I still working here? I should've quitted since last time. I don't know what the hell happened to me; if I was myself, I would've never let it happen. Argh! Screw this. I should just write a resignation letter.

"Axel." Yuffie handed me a blue folder, "This needs your signature."

I looked up and blinked. She blinked back, asking if I was okay. Hah, I wish I was okay. But I'm not. I nodded slowly and opened the folder, then scribbled my signature on the line, and handed the document back to her.

"Axel."

I shivered. So he _is_ here. How come I never saw him coming in? His voice held a venomous seduction in it that made me cold. I gulped, eyes remaining on the floor as I stood up from my seat and went into his office.

"Sit down." He said.

"No sir, thank you." I swallowed again. Am I trembling? "I have some more things to tend to, so what is it that you wanted?"

"You." I could hear the smirk from his voice. My eyes were still on the floor. My heart was beating loud, not because of his flirting, but because I was angry. I was angry at how weak I looked in front of him. What the fuck is wrong with me?

"Is there anything other than that?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. I heard him close the blinds like he did last time. No, not again!

"Not really…" His voice was close; and he pushed me onto the couch in his office. Axel! Do something! Move your fucking ass and kick him! His lips were on me. On my neck. Shit.

"Axel?" He stopped. Thank goodness. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No." I replied. My eyes were still on the fucking floor.

"You're shaking, real bad." Why the fuck do you care, _Sephiroth_?! I just glared at him. I wanted to stop shaking; but I couldn't. Why are my eyes wet?

He straightened up, a frown on his face. What now? I could never understand what he wanted.

"If you really minded, you should just tell me." He said. The fuck?

"What the hell do you mean?" I hissed out behind gritted teeth. "Are you saying that I… That last time… I could've stopped it?!"

"Yeah, if you wanted to." He looked at me, a 'What? You didn't know?' expression on his face. I lunged on him and grabbed him by the collar. "What the fuck?! You're telling me that I could've stopped it and I didn't?!"

"Axel!" He yelled back, grabbing my wrists. "…I… basically, yes." He deadpanned. "I should've told you… I just wanted you to be happy… I thought… well you didn't stop me, so… If stopping me is what would make you happy, then you can just tell me."

No… way… I couldn't stand. I just slumped into the couch. My tears couldn't stop, either. It could've been prevented. I could've stop him…! I…

Suddenly he hugged me. To my surprise, I hugged him back. My arms sought for any comfort. He was warm. I never knew I had this weak side of me.

That evening, he drove me home. But why did I feel bad when I was walking away, leaving his car behind me…? I looked back. He smiled at me, his face partially hidden behind the shadows cascaded on him by the street lights. It seemed almost like an invitation… An invitation to an adventure that would be exhilarating. A reckless life… I remember wondering what it would be like to live like that. I wonder how I got so caught up with everything else and started living so…

Now I realized. My life was _boring_. My job… nine-to-five office work. What the fuck? I dreamt to be a rock star before. Whatever happened to that? I wanted attention, but instead I became the attention-giver. How did that happen?

Sephiroth was still there. Attention… Right there.

I closed the door. I was in his car again. "Let's drive around." I couldn't believe what I was saying; but I wanted an adventure. He started the engine, and we sped off into the night.

--

I knew he couldn't resist it. I knew from the first time I saw him. He was just simply the type that wants to live a life like a celebrity. I mean, come on. He had a head of flaming red hair and tattoos on his face. I have no idea how he ended up in an office like that, but I knew what he wanted. Heh. How convenient for me.

He was sleeping in the bed now. I came out of the bathroom, walking over to pour myself some whiskey. Damn, this hotel room is expensive… But the sex was worth it. Especially how he was begging me to go faster. Yup. I think it all paid off.

Another victory for me. I couldn't help the smirk on my face, looking at him sleeping. Axel, you are so easily fooled…


	21. Chapter 21

Work in the café is usual today… that is, until afternoon. Sephiroth has become our everyday-morning customer, but he wasn't there this morning. I didn't think about it much.

I just finished taking an order when the door opened and the familiar tall silver-head figure entered the diner. I was going to greet Sephiroth but my actions halted in shock when I saw an even more familiar redhead figure following the silver-haired man, hands interlocked. What is Axel doing with Sephiroth, let alone holding hands with him?! When I realized that the red-haired man might have recognized me, I quickly turned around. Oh shit… From the lighted reflection at the bar counter I could tell Sephiroth was raising a hand, expecting me to show up. What should I do?? I want to find out what's between them and there's no way I could do that if I show up in front of Axel!! Luckily, maroon hair swayed passed in front of me.

"Kairi!!" I hissed quietly as I grabbed her arm. She seemed slightly startled but turned to me, "Hm? Sora? What's wrong?"

"Can you uh… take Sephiroth's orders for me? I need to go to the bathroom." I whispered, "And don't tell him that I'm here!" Her eyes darted across the shop and landed onto the tall silver-head and an almost equally tall redhead, "Um… okay, but…what's wrong?"

"Just go, pleeeease?" I almost whined, "If he tries to ask where I am, just cut him short with something, okay? Just make sure the redhead doesn't know my name! I'll explain to you later, alright?"

"Okay…" She shrugged and strolled casually over to Sephiroth to offer her service. Fortunately Sephiroth didn't seem to doubt my absence and just ordered. I nearly had to crawl back to the locker room; peeking from the door side I saw Kairi left their table as she placed the order paper onto the bar and Sephiroth resuming a conversation with my twin brother's fiancé. Maybe they're just talking about work…? Wait- Sephiroth's hands are-! T-They're creeping to…! They're resting on Axel's cheeks…wha-WHAT IS HE DOING?!

My mouth dropped.

I couldn't believe the sight before me. S-Sephiroth i-i-is…… KISSING AXEL!!

And as if that's not shocking enough……AXEL IS KISSING BACK!!

Suddenly a waist with two hands holding their hips blocked my view to the disgusting scene. I looked up and saw Kairi with her demanding expression, "Care to explain?"

"Oh yeah…" Remembering now, I retreated to the locker room and sighed, deciding to tell her.

* * *

_Hey hey, you you! I don't like your girlfriend!_

_No way! No way! I think you need a new one;_

_Hey hey, you you! I could be your girlfriend!_

The energetic song hummed itself in my head as I skipped happily into the grocery store; tonight, I am going to make a perfect dinner for me and my sweet Axey!! Okay, I know I sound like a gleeful little girl, but you can't help it when you're in love!! So hopping hyperactively all the while, I bought the ingredients, some nice candles and more cute decorations, te-hee.

_Hey hey, you you! I know that you like me!_

_No way! No way! You know it's not a secret;_

_Hey hey, you you! I want to be your girlfriend!_

Aw, this song is stuck in my head… I really couldn't possibly feel anymore like a girl than I have before in my life! Oh well! I paid and returned to my sexy ride 2006 Corvette Z06. (Yup, Axel bought it for me!) And- now who's that goddamn Porsche parked in front of my car so close, blocking my way?! How am I supposed to get out of the parallel park if you park THIS close?! Geez!! I grunted and placed the groceries in the only passenger's seat and closed the door back. Good thing somebody was in that Porsche; or I'm stuck here until the driver comes back. Frowning, I walked up to the window of the car to tap on-

Everything stopped.

The music in my head stopped. My arm stopped. My train of thought stopped.

My heart stopped.

The only thing moving was the image I see with my own naked eyes. The only _fucking_ thing moving was the silver-haired man at the other side of the thin piece of glass, kissing and nipping at none other than…

…Axel himself.

I could almost hear his moan from the way his lips trembled. The very lips that I kissed every night. The very lips that spelled the three everlasting promise 'I. Love. You.' And right now here their owner sat, in this car and making out with some complete stranger. Those emerald eyes seemed to have a final realization of someone standing beside the window and gazed up, only to be coated with a new emotion much equally to mine – shock.

The back of my eyeballs hurt when those jade eyes bore holes into my cerulean ones. Feeling this, my legs that had conscience of their own moved. As soon as the first foot laid contact on the hard concrete ground, everything snapped back into motion. My legs ran on their own, backing to the silver Corvette. I heard the door of the Porsche being swung open and a yell of my name from that now-burning voice.

"Roxas!!"

That searing sound tore open my already half-dead heart. I slammed the door of my car shut and twisted the ignition routinely; oh shit… the Porsche is in the way!! Not caring, I slammed through the corner of the Porsche, ignoring Axel's rapid knocks on the other window and fortunately made it out.

'**BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!**' A piercing honk screeched.

"Aaah!" I shrieked while turning my steering wheel back in place. My spacing out has made me doze off the lane. My tears wouldn't stop from my eyes. W-Where am I going?

'_Rrrrr! Rrrrr!'_ My cell phone! I picked it up and answered it. The speaker started with a beep.

"Hello? Roxas?"

"Sora…?" I sniffed.

"Hey." Something was different about Sora's voice. It was laced with concern. "Are you free tonight? I want you to come over and have dinner with us. Cloud will be there, too."

"I…" I hesitated. I had some other plans in mind.

"Please?"

"…A-Alright." I just couldn't refuse Sora's request. He's my twin brother… Even things about Axel have to wait. And he sounded so worried. If Riku did something again, I swear I won't forgive him.

* * *

A/N: Okay, there's a major change of style between the first and second half of this chapter, and I apologize. It's because I wrote this chapter a loooooong time ago, and then I have to edit the last part to change the ending to what I wanted. But I hope you have enjoyed it, and look forward to the next chapter!


	22. Chapter 22

Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck, OH FUCK!! Roxas saw us!! Shit what should I do?! I spun around to Sephiroth, "Um…er…"

"Let's call it off." He sighed, positioning himself into the driver's seat.

"Oh, okay." I nodded and bent my head to scoot into his car; to my surprise, he stopped me with a hand. "Didn't you hear what I say?"

"Huh? Yeah, you said we're calling it a day." I replied. Wasn't that what he meant?

He only laughed, "No, I said I'm calling it off. I'm calling our relationship off." WHAT?!

"WHAT?!" My lips echoed.

"He found out didn't he?" He smirked, "Your fiancé." I dumbly nodded; how does that relate?!

"Well then our relationship doesn't have any meaning." He averted his gaze to the front, staring holes into the windshield, "I said it when we started; I only liked that feeling of sneaking out with someone." Did he say that? "But now that your little lover have found out about us, it's not sneaking out anymore, is it? So if it's not sneaking out, then I'm not going to be with you." Oh he's gotta be kidding me… "So please," He pushed my hand away from the seat, "We can only go this far." And the next second he closed the door and drove away… Okay…did I just have my fiancé find out about an affair AND got dumped by my affair boyfriend right after?! Did Sephiroth flirt with me because he thought I was just going to be a great fuck?! Ha…Haha…SEPHIROTH YOU JERK!! What am I supposed to do now?! I stood there stupidly, lost in astray…

--

Sora welcomed me with open arms when I got there. The house was full of delight and the scent of food. I smiled and hugged him gently before walking in with him, looking around to see if anything was out of place. But no, everything looked just fine; in fact, they got a newer and wider TV.

Everybody was already situated at the dining table. Riku looked almost like those years never happened before; Cloud lost some of his fit shape and Leon got some new wrinkles.

They looked just perfectly normal.

Had my relationship been the only one that changed?

"Sit down." Sora patted on my shoulder before settling in his own seat. I sat and prayed that this dinner's conversation would be on anything – from the weather to the news about the drunken lady – but Axel's absence.

"Where's Axel?" Cloud asked.

I am not lucky, _at all_.

"He's uh… busy." I gripped my knife. Yeah, Axel was definitely _busy_.

"Let's eat." Sora grinned at everyone, almost as if trying to change the subject. "You guys need to tell me how I did on my roasted honey lobster."

Silently thanking him in my heart, I reached out for a piece of the seafood dish. It was delicious. Riku's one lucky man to have my brother. Actually, I think he gained some weight since the last time I saw him. We all started to taste out the different dishes Sora prepared for us. Maybe I should've asked Sora to teach me how to cook some of these; maybe then, Axel wouldn't have…

"Roxas, eat some more." Sora kept the grin on his face and got me some more food. I nodded and decided that it should be time for dinner, not for depressing thoughts.

After dinner, Cloud, Leon and Riku gathered at the sofa to chat, while Sora said he would wash the dishes. I just wanted to be somewhere alone; but Sora asked me to go with him. We stood there, him washing the plates and I wiping them dry after he handed them to me. He looked like he had something to say, but didn't know how to.

"Sora, what's bothering you?"

He stopped and looked at me, the faucet still running. "No, it's what's bothering _you_."

I stared at him for a moment, confused. He couldn't have been talking about that… could he?

"Roxas…" He turned off the tap and took off the rubber gloves. "Don't keep it all in yourself…"

How did he find out? My eyes stung again. Damn the tears! I hate crying, especially in front of Sora. He was the last one that needed to worry about me, to know my problems. Damn this stupid thing called sadness! Damn it all!

"It's ok…" He cooed, his hand patting my back as I sobbed in his arms. When Sora was still a baby and cried to me because Cloud teased him, I never thought one day I'd have to be comforted by him instead. "Have you tried… talking to him?"

I shook my head against his shoulder. He sighed and pulled away slightly, "You've gotta talk to him. Sort this out. Maybe he's got a reason?"

What reason could he possibly have? He was _enjoying_ it! I could see it on his face; the way he reacted to that man's touches. It was the way I reacted to his touches before. Now I feel extremely disturbed; or worse, _disgusted_. This isn't how it should be.

"Sora…I-I can't believe it." My voice was quivering. "Five years… We've been together for at least five years, and all of a sudden…"

"I know how you feel." Sora sighed. "Trust me; I know. Do you want me to… to call him? And get you guys out for a talk?"

I shivered at the thought of seeing Axel again. "I don't know if I can handle it…"

"I'll be there with you." He held my hands, making me feel like a baby more than ever. "We'll work it out. I'm sure there's something he wants to say to you."

If only everything was this easy… Suddenly I found myself in a position not very different from Sora's a little more than three years ago. I would love to be able to talk to Axel, but it felt as if I could no longer communicate with him.


	23. Chapter 23

Sighing, I strolled aimlessly on the streets. Today can't be worse than any other day… I am overwhelmed with this feeling of failure and……guilt. That expression on Roxas' face when he saw us… Gosh I-I… I've done something really harsh to him…and he absolutely did _not_ deserve it. Stupid me, what _was_ I thinking when I was with Sephiroth?! Did I seriously think that he liked me?!

I swallowed thick. What can I do now? I dug out my cell phone and flipped it open. I know it's lame to try to talk Roxas back, but he deserved at least an explanation.

His cell flew to the voicemail. I knew it. Damnit.

Another call came in.

"Axel! Wassup man?"

"Demyx…?"

"Whoa. What's wrong? You sound terrible!"

"Well…" Should I tell him what happened? "I kind of… screwed up."

"At what?"

"Engagement." I sighed. "My boyfriend caught me with another one in the bed."

"Yeowch." I could hear him wince. Yeah, pretty messed up, I am. "That ain't easy."

"Yeah I wish I could just…" I heard myself sigh again. "He's not picking up his phone, so…"

"Oh." Demyx mumbled thoughtfully, "You wanna come down to a pub and we'll just chill it out? Maybe he'll call you later."

That didn't sound half bad. I guess Demyx really has the knacks for being a therapist. "Alright, I'll be there."

--

I was hoping that Axel would pick up his phone when I held the speaker in my hand. But the ringing tone just died off to the voicemail lady after a while. It was the third time I tried. I gulped before looking at Roxas' slightly hopeful eyes, shaking my head. I felt so guilty; it was so cruel just to bring him the bad news.

He closed his eyes shut, sucked in a large intake of air, and pressed the back of his hand to his eyes. I placed down the phone and hugged him again. He was shaking. Then he suddenly pushed me away and started to leave the kitchen.

"Where are you going?"

"Anywhere but home." Roxas muttered under his breath, picking up his jacket from the couch, the other three men's eyes curiously following. He ignored my invitation for him to stay the night, and promptly left after briefly saying goodbye to everyone else.

"Is he alright?" Cloud asked, his voice laced with concern.

I looked back at them, trying to erase the frown on my face. "I hope so."

--

I spent my days in some random half-hotel half-motel thing. It didn't help to lie on the clean white bed and stare at the ceiling, but there wasn't anything else better to do.

_Bzzzz…Bzzzz…_

There it goes again. That damn cell had been going off since I left Sora's house that night and began inhabiting in this hideous building. With a growl I turned over to my other side and grabbed it from the cupboard.

Caller: Axel.

I drew my hand backwards, and tossed the phone all the way across. It flew smashing into the wall. Poor cell. Fuck it. I wasn't sure when Sora suggested me to call him; and it got even clearer when he didn't pick up for three whole calls.

_Roxas!!_

What was he gonna say if I stayed that day? He could explain? It wasn't what it looked like? It was a prank the other guy pulled on him? He's sorry? It was a misunderstanding? Give him another chance?

Gah. Does it even matter anymore?

My heart clenched and I withdrew my hand from under the pillow. It still matters. I gingerly traced the ring on my finger. This little thing… I took it out. The window to my right was open, the satin curtain gently waving in the breeze. I walked over, resting on the windowsill. I looked at the ring in my palm, closed it, and drew my hand backwards…

* * *

Sorry about the shortness, the first part of this fic is written long ago, also. And I think the overall effect on the mood goes better with a chapter break like this. :) See ya and review!


	24. Chapter 24

A/N: Ooookay, so my computer had a temporary breakdown and was revived just yesterday, thus I haven't been able to update until now. Thank goodness my documents were still there, I've backed them up, so it should be no problem now. No worries! :)

* * *

"Roxas! Where have you been? I was so worried about you!" Sora exclaimed so loudly in the speaker that I winced. "Why didn't you answer your cell phone?!"

"It… It ran out of battery." I said, eyes glancing over at the remains of said machine. "I didn't go home."

"Where are you?"

"At a hotel." I answered, "I'm using the phone here."

"Oh…" Something shuffled at his side. "So what are you going to do now? Why don't you come over to my place? We won't mind having you."

"Well I…" I can't rely on Sora forever, after all. "I thought… a lot. And I think, well, I'll try to call him again and talk. And we'll see how it goes."

He was excited by my proposal, and repeated warned me that he'll do something if I didn't do what I said I would before finally hanging up. I swallowed uneasily before pressing the right buttons to call Axel.

"Hello?" He picked up in seconds.

"U-Uh…" I stuttered to a lack of words. "I…"

"Who's this?"

I gulped. He couldn't recognize my voice. "It's me."

There was a moment of silence at the other side.

"Roxas?"

"Hm." I hummed. "I… I was thinking… maybe we should uh… talk."

"Y-Yeah." He said awkwardly. "I tried to call you, but… Anyway, where are you?"

"Er… somewhere." I brushed it off. "Can I… can you meet me at the café two blocks from our house? The one at the corner?"

"Yeah, sure." He sounded hopeful. I know I was hopeful too. "Should we… Should we meet now?"

I looked down at the pile of dirty clothes by the bed, my own boxers that I've worn for days, and my face through the mirror in the half-open closet. No, not now. "Um, can we meet tomorrow? At noon?"

"Sure, of course."

I said an okay, nodding my head. We were both hopeful, I could tell. I wanted to save this; really I did.

--

I thought I'd never have to see that jerk again once I quitted my job. But fate just had to be a bitch. I saw him coming, walking down the street. There was no mistaking, his hair shining like that in the midday sun. And I tried to walk away; cross the street before we had to brush shoulders. But he pulled me! He grabbed my wrist and in a flash we were in a back alley.

"Going somewhere?" He asked, pushing himself upon me.

"Get the fuck offa me!" I snarled, fighting his grip on my hand.

"Now, now." He smirked. I hated it when he did that! "Don't be rude. We had some fun, didn't we?"

"YOU had all the fun, but I don't fucking care!" I howled again, kicking him in the shin. He winced and growled, then looked at me with that vivid blue-green eyes of his, "You shouldn't have done that."

What does he mea-?!

He forced his lips on mine, locking me in my current position with his hands. Gargh! What the hell does this guy want from me?!

I remained still, not responding to his provocation. He opened his eyes back, frowned, and changed to licking my ear shell. No-! I'm still not… gonna… give in! My hands were back in motion again as I tried to push him away. Get off… you… stupid jerk, Sephiroth!

"Think how sexy it is if we just do it here. In the public." He whispered into my ear, his breath tickling. No… "Ready to be caught by anyone… If you scream… Loud enough…"

He pushed his knee against my groin. N-No…

"Y-You said you wanted to call it off…" I gulped, my lips occasionally pressed over by his. "You just wanted to fuck me… didn't you?"

"Yeah." He nipped at my open chest. I didn't know when my shirt was off. "But you do too, don't you?" His eyes were grinning at me. Why? Why did he have to do this…?

Yes…

--

The waitress placed down the fifth cup of coffee onto the table. Roxas looked at it, and was repulsed simply by the smell now. He swallowed down his dry throat, and breathed shakily. The sofa was soft and relaxing, but it did nothing to ease the tension in him brought up by the emptiness of the seat opposite him.

Without ever touching the cup of coffee, he placed down a twenty dollar bill and left.

He remembered having a suitcase in the bottom of his closet. So once he entered the house he walked into their room with a heavy face, and opened the wooden wardrobe to take the bag out. He made another trembling sigh, and, with traces of tears in his eyes, started to transfer his clothes from the closet into the baggage. He came across a sweater that Axel gave him when he was wearing it more often than the redhead, and wondered if he should take that too.

He decided against it, and laid it out on the bed, only to stain the garment as his tears came rushing out. He cursed and tried foolishly to wipe away the drops by rubbing on it. It didn't work, of course, and he broke down onto his feet. The pain was too much, and his tears flooded.


	25. Chapter 25

A/N: So it has finally come down to the last chapter! I'm sorry if this was kind of sudden because I never said anything in the previous chapters. But yeah this is coming down to an end, and I thank you for all your support!

* * *

My heart skipped when I pushed in the key and found the lock already unbolted. The only person that could possibly have a key is Roxas. Hastily I pushed open the door and went inside, eager to see him. The house was almost completely silent, except for a faint noise. It was upstairs, so I went up.

"Roxas…?" I pushed the door open lightly.

"Y-Yeah?" His back was facing me, and I saw the luggage in front of him. He's not planning to leave, is he?

"Roxas, I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay, Axel." His voice was soft and quivering.

"No, Roxas, really. Don't pack up and leave…" I stepped out.

"No, don't come near me." He glanced sideways over his shoulder and quickly turned back again. My god… His eyes were so red…

"Roxas, I…"

"It doesn't matter anymore." He said, refusing to look at me. "Will you please, just let me go, quietly?"

"No, I was going there, I really was, and then I-" I held his shoulder to turn him around. My heart ached at his tear-stained face.

"I don't want to hear any more." He fought away my grip. "It's… It's over. It's too late." No… "I called the lawyer about it, and he said he'd cancel our engagement." Something burned in the back of my throat.

"Roxas, I'm sorry…"

"No, no. It doesn't matter anymore." He repeated and closed the suitcase. I swallowed hard.

"Really? I don't… get another chance?"

"I tried to give you one, Axel." He wiped at his eyes with the back of his hands profusely. God. "I tried. But you didn't take it."

There was nothing left in me to say. I have thoroughly broken his heart, and I don't know what I could do to fix that. I wanted to reach out to him, but it only brought him more pain. I couldn't bring myself to hurt him anymore.

He took the luggage from the bed and placed it on its wheel. I stood there stranded, wishing somehow that this was all just a dream, just a nightmare. But he sniffed and dug into his pocket, taking his key out.

"This is yours." His voice was coarse, and I barely remembered taking the thing into my palm. "Take care, goodbye."

My throat didn't even work properly as I watched him walking out the door, lonely and detached from me.

-- Two years later --

"Yes, yes, Sora. It's right." I rolled my eyes with a grin on my face, my new cell phone pressed to my face and the cake in my other hand. "I checked it myself, okay? R-I-K-U, right? It looked fabulous and eatable, okay?"

I heard him whine on the other side and laughed. You see, Riku finally paid off all the debts so Sora wanted to hold a surprise party for it. And well, I, the twin brother, was given the honor to get the cake. And Sora was all worrying about how the cake lady might mess up on spelling Riku's name, ha. I glanced at my watch and realized it was about time I start driving to their house or else Riku would be back. "Hey, look, I gotta drive, okay? I'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"Okay, hurry! He's back by five!" He exclaimed before allowing me to hang up. I shoved my cell phone in and dug out my car keys.

"Roxas!"

I whipped my head around to the voice calling my name. A familiar redhead came running from the door of the mall.

"Hey!" A grin stretched across my face, and he smiled back.

"Hi." He said breathily for he ran. "It's uh… long time no see."

"Yeah." I blinked, "How've you been?"

"Oh, great." Axel shrugged. "I got a new job, yeah. Well, that's a while ago… Haven't seen you so… But hey, you look great!"

"Thank you." I smiled politely back, "It's nice to see you, too."

"Yeah…" He nodded and we both stood silent. He eyed the box in my hand. "So what's up? Is it someone's birthday?"

"Oh, no." I brought the cake up to my chest and chuckled. "It's for Riku; Sora wanted to throw a party."

"Hm." He grinned.

"Yeah…" I smiled back again, "Oh, you can come, if you don't mind…"

"Ah, nah. I gotta go somewhere after this." He said, and then as if catching a hint from my face or something, he changed his tone, "But uh… we should go out some time. You know, to catch up."

"Yeah. We should." I nodded understandingly. It was getting more awkward by the moment. "So uh… I need to go now…"

"Oh, of course." He nodded one last time and I smiled honestly before turning back to my car, him leaving.

As I placed the cake onto the shotgun seat and turned the ignition, I paused at the ring on my finger… Well… It _was _a beautiful engagement ring. Ah, I should really go now.

* * *

Authoress's special announcement: For all the readers out there, who thinks that this story needs to continue? If you do, here's what: **Review and give me your ideas for an epilogue/aftermath chapter. **I won't be able to use every single one of them, or follow them exactly the same, but I'll put them into consideration. If I don't get any ideas, I'll cancel the aftermath chapter and this is just going to be how this story ends. So if you want to have a say in the special chapter, review now!


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